Public policies with ambitious decarbonization requirements affect electricity systems spanning various jurisdictions and geographies in the United States. In 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order 1000, recognizing the importance of incorporating federal, state, and local public policy requirements into regional and interregional transmission planning and coordination. Alas, Order 1000 has failed to reconcile electricity grid balkanization across the western United States. This failure threatens to thwart decarbonization efforts, expose electricity customers to unfair rates, and undercut grid reliability. But even without new federal legislation, the Commission could revamp Order 1000 and leverage existing statutory mechanisms to facilitate the creation of transmission systems sufficient to comport with decarbonization goals and other public policy requirements.
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