NEMA Calls On DOE To Identify Electrical Transmission Bottlenecks
Bottlenecks on the electric transmission system decrease electric reliability and cost consumers and businesses billions of dollars per year. Officials of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have called on the U.S. Department of Energy to designate certain electrical transmission corridors as bottlenecks so they can be considered for federal siting permits by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Bottlenecks on the electric transmission system decrease electric reliability and cost consumers and businesses billions of dollars per year. Officials of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) have called on the U.S. Department of Energy to designate certain electrical transmission corridors as bottlenecks so they can be considered for federal siting permits by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Department of Energy to study congestion and identify bottlenecks, presently called National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. On Aug. 8, DOE released the National Electric Transmission Congestion Study, which categorizes congested areas, but does not designate bottleneck corridors.
Transmission line projects must be in national interest electric transmission corridors to be considered for possible federal siting. NEMA believes that designation of national corridors will reduce uncertainty by allowing the federal government to license facilities in the national interest in cases where states have not acted in a reasonable time. In one case, regulatory delays led to a 15-year schedule in getting an important transmission line built.
"DOE needs to quickly designate corridors to help ensure reliable and affordable electricity," said NEMA President Evan Gaddis.
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