But transmission planning, as we know it, may never be the same.
Bruce W. Radford is publisher of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
On July 21, the day after after this column went to press, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was set to release its most important ruling in years—the widely anticipated yet much-delayed final rule on electric transmission planning and cost allocation.
And if it looks anything like what was initially proposed, the final rule should prove worth the wait.
Edward Krapels, founder of the independent transmission company known as Anbaric Holding LLC, and prime mover behind such historic grid projects as Neptune, Hudson, and Green Line, predicted as much when he commented on FERC’s proposal last September.As Krapels put it, “We believe the commission’s final rule that this NOPR foreshadows is likely to join the other seminal acts of Congress and of the commission that have compelled the American power markets to modernize and become more innovative.”