Federal energy regulators demand further disclosure from New England's transmission operators regarding ongoing infrastructure improvement projects.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has taken several significant steps recently, aiming to increase transparency in the region's transmission system upgrades and approving a refund plan.
In a recent decision, FERC found the Maine Office of Public Advocate's (OPA) questions about the need for projects, alternatives, and the prevention of premature investments to be valid. This decision came as FERC ordered New England utilities to provide more information about upgrades to their transmission systems to the Maine ratepayer advocate.
The order affects several transmission owners, including Avangrid's Connecticut Light and Power Co., Maine Electric Power Co., two Eversource Energy utilities - NSTAR Electric Co. and Public Service Co. of New Hampshire, National Grid's New England Power Co., PPL's Rhode Island Energy, and Vermont Transco.
One of the projects affected by FERC's decision is the plan to supply a data center directly from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant, which was rejected by the commission in early November.
FERC has also asked U.S. grid operators to develop best practices for forecasting large load additions, such as data centers, to ensure a more efficient and cost-effective grid.
In a separate development, FERC approved the Southwest Power Pool's (SPP) long-pending plan for providing refunds related to network upgrade costs under its "Attachment Z2". Potential refunds and resettlements under the SPP plan grew to nearly $660 million as of June 2024.
FERC's formula rate process deems spending on transmission infrastructure to be prudent unless challenged by an outside party. This process was put to the test in a challenge made by the Maine OPA to "asset condition" projects that utilities put in place in 2022.
FERC gave SPP 45 days to file a compliance filing at the agency that reflects the recoupment and refund amounts with interest before the grid operator begins processing the Attachment Z2 refunds.
Commissioner Lindsay See stated that significant infrastructure investment is expensive, and it's important to be responsible and transparent about spending. Commissioner Judy Chang has echoed this sentiment, calling for transmission owners across the United States to be more transparent about their spending on local transmission projects.
FERC Chairman David Rosner has emphasized the need for infrastructure building, stating "We need to build, build, build". The commission's actions reflect this sentiment, as they aim to ensure a more transparent and efficient grid for the future.
