On August 25, Energy Washington reported that
American Electric Power (AEP) will likely back a proposal by FERC Chairman
Joseph Kelliher to expand federal powers to site new transmission projects. The story is the latest indication that
Kelliher's comments, made at a July hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee, continue to resonate among electric stakeholders,
especially with transmission planning on the rise. AEP does not predict this dramatic change in
federal policy to come soon. In the
meantime, the utility would like to see more designations of National Interest
Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETC), where FERC's current backstop
authority can be applied. It also
supports a strong DOE role in coordinating activities of multiple federal
agencies for projects that cross federal lands, per the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
AEP and others
complain that federal agencies are too slow in approving siting studies
required for transmission lines to cross federal lands. An AEP source said that it takes three years
to complete construction of a new transmission project, while it takes 16 years
to site it. Because public awareness is
relatively low on transmission concerns, Congress has been slow to consider a
new siting policy. FERC's process for
natural gas pipelines should be the model for transmission siting, echoing the
remarks of chairman Kelliher at a July 31 Senate hearing on transmission.