Energy Policy Act of 2005 Gives Transmission a Boost

摘要

In the relatively small amount of space devoted to it-roughly 70 pages out of 1,724-transmission received a much-needed boost from the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Among the provisions related directly to transmission is one that gives the Department of Energy (DOE) authority to identify "national interest electric transmission corridors" that need to be upgraded to improve reliability and relieve congestion. Another gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) "backstop" authority to site transmission within these corridors. The bill calls for the enactment of nationwide, mandatory, enforceable reliability standards. And, hundreds of millions of dollars are made available for transmission technology research and development.