Reducing Regulatory Costs and Timelines for Power Plant Development

Featuring

[Moderator] Devin Hartman, Director, Energy and Environmental Policy, R Street Institute

Karen Onaran, President and CEO, Electricity Consumers Resource Council

Arnie Quinn, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Policy, Vistra Corporation

Beth Garza, Senior Fellow, Energy Policy, R Street Institute

Casey Kelly, Senior Research Associate, ClearPath

Overview

Excessive regulatory costs and delays for new power plant development are driving up customer energy bills and threatening grid reliability amid resurgent electric demand. Permitting and generator interconnection approvals, in particular, are preventing or delaying fossil and renewable projects by a decade in many regions. The exception is Texas, where efficient permitting and interconnection enable project development in two to three years. This has unleashed rapid generator investment that lowers costs and emissions while augmenting grid reliability despite remarkable demand growth.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order 2023 this summer, which addressed some low-hanging fruit on interconnection reform. However, the rule lacked a vision for robust reform and, in the eyes of free-market and energy consumer groups, left most crucial reforms unresolved. Congress is now examining how to enable FERC to expedite necessary remaining interconnection reform.

Join us for a conversation with leading practitioners and scholars on completing reforms to achieve efficient generator interconnection practices.