Moeller urges greater 'federal presence' to raze obstacles to transmission siting

摘要

Expansion of the nation's electric transmission grid offers a "universal solution" to a myriad of issues facing the industry, but many obstacles remain for development of an extra-high-voltage electric grid, Commissioner Philip Moeller acknowledged on Tuesday.rnAn efficient high-voltage grid would help meet many of the nation's energy policy goals, said Moeller, who added that transmission would bolster reliability and allow wholesale markets to provide their full benefits. Improved transmission would also stimulate demand response as well as allow the integration of new renewable energy sources.rnBut thorny siting and cost allocation issues require one change, Moeller told an audience at a forum on the future of the electric grid in Washington: "We need more of a federal presence in siting these facilities," he said, adding that "cost allocation will be even more challenging than siting." Even with federal siting authority, he said, federal regulators will have to work with state and local regulators.