FERC Urged to Close `Regulatory Gap’ on Tx Costs

…A joint filing of groups calling themselves the “Electricity Customer Alliance,” included several state consumer advocates from PJM, the Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, Electricity Consumers Resource Counsel, Public Citizen and the R Street Institute.

“Transmission developers have ample access to capital and spend over $20 billion per year on transmission in the United States,” the groups said. “Unfortunately, billions of dollars are misallocated annually, eroding net benefits to consumers and suppressing development of cleaner and lower-cost generation.”

FERC’s regional planning NOPR proposed pulling back on transmission competition by giving utilities the right of first refusal over transmission projects if they team up with another firm. But the groups said that would not bring their dollars out of the local process and into the regional planning process…