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I
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 5511
To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to initiate a rule-
making to reform the interregional transmission planning process, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 19, 2019
Ms. HAALAND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to
initiate a rulemaking to reform the interregional trans-
mission planning process, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interregional Trans-
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mission Planning Improvement Act of 2019’’.
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•HR 5511 IH
SEC. 2. RULEMAKING TO INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS
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OF INTERREGIONAL TRANSMISSION PLAN-
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NING.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the
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date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Energy Regu-
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latory Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to con-
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sider—
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(1) the effectiveness of existing planning proc-
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esses for identifying transmission projects across re-
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gions that provide economic, reliability, operational,
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and public policy benefits, taking into consideration
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the public interest, the integrity of markets, and the
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protection of consumers;
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(2) changes to the processes described in para-
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graph (1) to ensure that efficient, cost-effective, and
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broadly beneficial transmission solutions are selected
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for construction, taking into consideration—
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(A) the public interest;
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(B) the integrity of markets;
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(C) the protection of consumers;
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(D) the broad range of benefits that inter-
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regional transmission provides;
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(E) the need for single projects to secure
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approvals based on a comprehensive assessment
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of the multiple benefits provided;
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•HR 5511 IH
(F) that projects that meet interregional
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benefit criteria should not be subject to subse-
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quent reassessment by regional entities;
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(G) the importance of synchronization of
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planning processes in neighboring regions, such
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as using a joint model on a consistent timeline
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with a single set of needs, input assumptions,
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and benefit metrics;
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(H) that evaluation of long-term scenarios
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should align with the expected life of a trans-
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mission asset;
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(I) that transmission planning authorities
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should allow for the identification and joint
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evaluation of alternatives proposed by stake-
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holders;
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(J) that interregional planning should be
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done regularly and not less frequently than
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once every 3 years; and
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(K) the elimination of arbitrary project
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voltage, size, or cost requirements for inter-
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regional solutions; and
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(3) cost allocation methodologies that reflect
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the multiple benefits provided by interregional solu-
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tions.
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(b) TIMING.—Not later than 18 months after the
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date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Energy Regu-
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latory Commission shall promulgate a final rule to com-
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plete the rulemaking initiated under subsection (a).
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