# Presentation: 342513

- Energizing the Northwest Today and Tomorrow
- September 28, 2004
- Jim Fama
- Executive Director, Energy Delivery
- Edison Electric Institute

- Are We Building
-  Enough Transmission?

## Normalized by Pk Dem: Decline Since 1982

**           ****Source: Eric Hirst, U.S. Transmission Capacity: Present Status, Future Projects**
**   **

## DATA AND PROJECTIONS SHOW SIMILAR TREND OVER 3 DECADES

## U.S. Transmission Plans10 – Year Projections

**Source: NERC Reliability Assessment Reports**

## IOU CAPITAL EXPENDITURES JUMPED LAST FOUR YEARS

**                                                                                   ****Source: Edison Electric Institute**

## What Does The Data Show?

- Gap in growth rates between peak and transmission closing.
- Notable pickup in investment in last 2 years.
- Enormous variations in planning data among sources (Regional  councils, utilities, RTOs, federal agencies, etc.)
- NERC data: 95% of projects < 100 miles (18 miles avg.).
- Mostly local reliability or interconnect of new gen and loads.
- Data on miles of transmission:  No data on equipment that adds capacity or control but no miles (transformers, switches etc.).
- Trends could reflect increased efficiency of transmission use and siting of gas-fired generators near load centers.
- Overall: Not a sufficient indicator of transmission adequacy.
**http://www.ehirst.com/publications.html**

## Regional State Committees 

- Organization of MISO States / Southwest Power Pool RSC /
- 	  New England States Committee on Electricity RSC
- EEI: RSCs should facilitate state approvals for regional lines.
- Survey of Transmission Siting Practices in Midwest, jointly sponsored by EEI and OMS / issued Fall 2004:
- Availability of “one stop shopping” varies.
- Half of states have statutory deadline, half do not.
- Most states believe they can consider regional needs.
- Preliminary recommendations:
- States should take RTO plans into account in need cases.
- RSC should consider standardizing applications.
- Joint hearings, testimony, studies, data, etc.

## DOE Designation of National InterestElectric Transmission Bottlenecks  

- Notice of Inquiry;  Comments filed September 20th.
- EEI View:
- Support DOE bringing attention to needed projects.
- We need this process in place if legislation passes.
- Difficulty with criteria for determining bottlenecks:
- (1) National security  (2) Reliability  (3) Economic
- EEI Proposal:
- No need for DOE to develop transmission planning or modeling function.
- Utilize existing transmission planning / data sources (RTOs, NERC, regional reliability councils, states).
- Have applicants make the case based on “stuck” projects.

## Going Forward  

- Data:  We need better data on transmission.
- Policy:
- More transmission means more reliability, economic transactions and national security.
- All transmission models should be supported:
-    Integrated utilities / Indep. Trans. Cos. / Merchant trans.
- RSCs should focus on siting.
- Reg. certainty on pricing incentives, liability, cost recovery.
- Transmission incentives in energy legislation:  Backstop siting, lead fed. agency, accel. depreciation, capital gains.