California PUC slams proposed changes to US FERC transmission incentives

摘要

The California Public Utility Commission took the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to task June 25 over proposed changes to the latter's electric transmission incentives policy, which the PUC believes is counter to what Congress intended the policy to address. The driving purpose of the federal legislation created by Congress was to decrease costs for ratepayers, but there is no evidence FERC’s proposal does that, PUC attorney Jonathan Pais Knapp told the state regulator's June 25 meeting. The proposed incentives are not needed and would actually increase ratepayers’ costs, he added. “Ratepayers are paying investor-owned utilities for doing what they are required to do under state law to stay under the [independent system operator],” Knapp said, noting ratepayer costs would double to $145 million from $72.5 million. “There is nothing in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that justifies the proposal they put forward,” he added. FERC’s proposal would change its transmission incentive policy in a way that would focus on economic benefits instead of the risks and challenges projects face, meaning project developers would have to show economic benefits to get incentive rate treatment, rather than the current process where they show risks of projects, Knapp said.