Left in place is a lower court ruling that the state law is unconstitutional because it bars outside
developers of federally approved regional transmission lines, which were
termed “classic instruments of interstate commerce.”
Work to add higher-voltage capacity and 10,000 miles of new lines faces key issues in siting, cost allocation and regulatory tension, says transmission sector consultant Grid Strategies in Sept. 13 report.
Unanimous FERC vote July 27 on final rule will prioritize the most construction-ready, financially-viable projects, but its effective date was not announced.
Bechtel Energy is EPC contractor for the Rio Grande LNG project, with its $11.5B price agreement for the first three trains extended to June 15 and a final investment decision by developer Next Decade to be made by June 30.
North Plains Connector from South Dakota to Montana would enable shared power and more system reliability for large US grids, but transmission experts decry big gaps in "planning, permitting and paying."
UPDATE: Interim chair of key federal regulator of energy, power infrastructure is named Jan. 3, but agency still has a 2-2 partisan split that could hamper project decisions until new Senate hearings confirm a permanent leader.