FERC Sets Meetings on Power Infrastructure

Federal energy regulators will examine whether the country’s electricity generating plants and transmission lines will be able to deliver enough power to meet future demand.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will hold four regional meetings with generators, state regulators and federal agencies, starting in the Western U.S. in early November, Chairman Pat Wood said during his first commission meeting after being appointed to the position. The meetings are designed to make sure power shortages that California faced last year and earlier this year aren’t on the horizon for other parts of the U.S., Wood said.

The commission’s staff also is preparing a report on areas of congestion in the power grid, along with estimates of how much the constraints add to the cost of power. A well-known choke point in Central California, a set of lines known as Path 15, added $73 million to power costs in December, staff members told the commission.

In addition, Wood said, electric utilities should commit to joining a large power grid operator by Dec. 15 or face having their authority to charge market-based rates revoked or merger approvals delayed. California can continue on its own for now, he said.