Garbarino, GOP colleagues call for final FERC rule on cost allocation, transmission planning

U.S. Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) earlier this week led three of his Republican colleagues from New York in urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to finalize its pending regional transmission planning and cost allocation rule.

“FERC has undertaken extensive work on this rule for over two years and consulted with a wide variety of stakeholders,” the lawmakers wrote in a Feb. 26 letter sent to FERC Chairman Willie Phillips. “It is now time to issue a strong final rule to meet the nation’s 21st century transmission needs.”

The proposed rule was advance noticed in July 2021, with official notice in April 2022, according to their letter, which noted that it has been pending for over a year with the proposal seeking to remedy deficiencies in FERC’s existing regional transmission planning and cost allocation requirements.

In their opinion, FERC’s final rule should require that transmission planners commit to long-term and forward-looking assessments of their energy mix, needs, and demands — “even when that includes continued reliance on fossil fuels,” Rep. Garbarino and his colleagues wrote. 

Additionally, FERC’s final rule should specify economic and reliability-based benefits and incorporate state input regarding cost allocation, including a way to resolve disagreements and allocating costs to customers in a way that is “roughly commensurate” with benefits, the letter says.

“It is time to unlock America’s energy potential and create regulatory certainty for our nation’s utility sector,” wrote Rep. Garbarino and the members. “A strong, meaningful, and final rule on transmission must be issued as soon as possible.”

Americans for a Clean Energy Grid endorsed the letter.