Panel urges grid planners to look beyond new infrastructure to benefit consumers

Transmission owners need to engage in comprehensive planning, including accounting for grid-enhancing technologies and generation build-out, to ensure long-term reliability and consumer benefits, a panel of industry stakeholders said at an event hosted by the R Street Institute.

The June 12 panel centered on transmission planning through a consumer lens. Panelists included energy attorneys, state regulators and state consumer advocates. The panel was moderated by Jennifer Chen, a principal at energy data firm ReGrid, and Kent Chandler, senior fellow at the R Street Institute.

During the event, panelists stressed the need to ensure transmission investments are made in ways designed to benefit consumers the most, as they are ultimately funding the investment.

The US Energy Department's 2024 national transmission planning study, conducted under the Biden administration, found that every dollar invested in transmission saves $1.60 to $1.80 in reduced electricity system costs, which could ultimately save the US energy sector $490 billion through 2050.

"I think one of the key concerns that we're wanting to flag is the need for real thought about how transmission integrates with the supply side and the demand side," Susan Bruce, an energy attorney at McNees Wallace and Nurick LLC, said. "Sometimes transmission is the right solution, but it might be a different way of thinking about transmission ... like some of the technology solutions."

Bruce also noted that transmission planners should account for where new generation is being sited when planning transmission infrastructure to optimize benefits and reduce costs.

Grid-enhancing technologies

The panelists contended that transmission planners should adopt grid-enhancing technologies, such as dynamic line ratings, to improve transmission capacity without the cost of building new infrastructure.

Order 1920, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's long-term planning rule, requires grid planners to "consider" grid-enhancing technologies; however, the order does not explicitly mandate their adoption. Greg Poulos, executive director at the Consumer Advocates of the PJM States, said that FERC should have been stronger on that provision.

"To ask in Order 1920 for the transmission owners to consider grid-enhancing technologies really doesn't do very much," Poulos said. "I was hoping ... you would hope that they had always been looking at grid-enhancing technologies for a more efficient system."

FERC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking in June 2024 to consider implementing dynamic line ratings on transmission facilities. Comments from utilities in October 2024 sought to delay the proposal while the industry implements a previous rule on ambient-adjusted ratings. The proposal remains pending before the commission.

Independent monitor

The panelists suggested that Congress or FERC could create an "independent transmission monitor" to help ensure that planners are making decisions that are in the consumers' best interest.

"Transmission owners are really the ones who control the size of and who's in the market," Poulos said, adding that an independent monitor "would help with the accountability piece and confidence."

Chris Parker, director of the Utah Division of Public Utilities, said that long-term interstate transmission planning also needs to ensure that individual states are not bearing the cost of their neighbors' clean energy goals.

"On a macro level, we see the benefits of a really expanded transmission network that can provide benefits systemwide," Parker said. "On a micro level, we worry that we end up paying more than our fair share of those because other states that are early movers and aggressive movers on renewable policies are really driving a lot of that build-out."