WIRES News
An Update on Transmission Law and Policy from WIRES
First Quarter 2018
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WIRES UNIVERSITY ADDRESSES QUANTIFIABLE, LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF TRANSMISSION ON CAPITOL HILL
WIRES University returned to the Rayburn House Office Building in February for a presentation by WIRES leaders and London Economics International showing
that planners can determine the long-term economic, environmental, and consumer benefits of investing in transmission infrastructure now.
Read more on the WIRES blog
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WIRES WINTER MEETING:
A FORUM ON NAFTA, INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES,
RESILIENCE, CROSS-BORDER
INFRASTRUCTURE
At an Energy Policy Forum hosted by WIRES at the Canadian Embassy to the United States,
Canadian Deputy Ambassador Kirsten Hillman
welcomed the group with an overview of the critical nature of energy, as a literal fuel for all other areas of the economy. Fresh off
NAFTA talks, Hillman went on to highlight how energy trade is so important between U.S. and Canada.
"The free flow of energy products, including services
and technology, is essential for both our countries."
- Deputy Ambassador Kirsten Hillman
Following that introduction, U.S.-Canadian strategist
Maryscott Greenwood
interviewed
Tom Kuhn, President of Edison Electric Institute (EEI)
, and
Sergio Marchi, President & CEO of the Canadian Electricity Association
. Both men echoed Deputy Ambassador Hillman's comments. "The grid is like the internet. It enables everything (including the internet). It is helping increase the electrification of our society," said Kuhn.
Offering analysis and insight on that macro view were:
Lisa Viscidi, Director of the Inter-American Dialogue
, with perspective on the U.S.-Mexican border;
Julien Dumoulin-Smith, analyst at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
, with the capital markets perspective; and
Lawrence Jones, Vice President of International Programs at EEI, with the global perspective.
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Grid Resilience Panel
Jeff Dagle, Chief Electrical Engineer, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Resilient infrastructure can anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and/or rapidly recover from a disruptive event
- Jeff Dagle
Alison Silverstein
, consultant and contributor to the Department of Energy staff study for Secretary Perry issued in August 2017
"Improving transmission & distribution will do more to
improve customer resilience than (a focus on generation)." - Alison Silverstein
Mark Lauby, Senior Vice President and Chief Reliability Officer, NERC
Ronald Keen, Department of Homeland Security Program Specialist
Download the presentations:
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Cross-Border Infrastructure Panel
Clair Moeller,
Executive Vice President, MISO
Catherine Jereza, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Energy
Carolyn O'Connor, Director, Hydro Quebec U.S.
Mark O'Malley, Senior Research Fellow, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
"The electric grid is the way it is because of the sharing of resources. It has economies of scale. By sharing things across a bigger area, among more people, across political boundaries, it becomes more efficient . . . and could result in billions of dollars of savings." - Mark O'Malley
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WIRES' STUDY MEASURES LIFE-CYCLE BENEFITS OF TRANSMISSION INVESTMENT
The report
"How Does Transmission Benefit You? - Identifying and Measuring the Life-Cycle Benefits of Infrastructure Investment" will help developers, planners, policy makers, regulators, and energy companies determine how and where grid investments will yield stronger local and regional economies, help grow businesses, lower consumers' energy costs, and ensure a reliable and resilient power supply throughout every stage of operation.
"While there is considerable focus on the cost of transmission investment, the benefits are often undervalued or not recognized. Investment in transmission infrastructure delivers a continuum of benefits over time to customers, ranging from when workers first arrive in a community through the lifetime performance of these vital assets." - WIRES President Nina Plaushin
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House Energy & Commerce Hearing on Energy Infrastructure (February 27)
WIRES member firms, energy policy makers, and transmission developers watched closely as Congress held yet another hearing on Energy Infrastructure. The big questions were what's working, what's not working, how does it get built, who builds it, and how does it get paid for?
Brian Slocum, Vice President, Operations of WIRES member firm ITC Holdings Corp.
was one of six panelists offering testimony. Other panelists included an industrial mayor, a hydro developer, a labor union representative, an educator and an environmentalist. All thought that any infrastructure package coming out of the White House needs to include the bulk power system and its varied components, much of which is 50+ years old. There was also much talk of new technologies being added to the system, with the potential to greatly improve overall efficiency. Slocum said in his opening statement and in response to questions, "Investment in the transmission grid is needed now. The private sector utility industry is ready to make these investments if the regulatory environment will permit it. We also need to improve the planning approach. We need new transmission lines that connect RTOS and ITOs in various regions."
Infocast Transmission Summit 2018 (March 8)
WIRES Executive Director Jim Hoecker
moderated a panel on rates, regulators and the capital markets on the second day of the Annual Transmission Summit East in
Washington DC. Several WIRES member firms sponsored and attended the annual industry event, including Burns & McDonnell, CTC Global, Lindsey-USA,
Inc., MasTec, POWER Engineers
, and
Scott Madden, Inc.
The primary take-away from the session is that plenty of private equity exists to invest in energy infrastructure projects, but there are too few projects. The panelists were:
Matthew Fedors, Director of Power & Infrastructure Investments at John Hancock Investments, and Ali Amirali, Senior Vice President of
Starwood Energy Group
. Amirali said his firm provides development capital for a diverse portfolio of generation assets, storage, and independent transmission projects in PJM, CALISO and others.
"We still need to build long-distance trans
mission; that trend will continue. We are not going to become a disaggregated grid." - Ali Amirali
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IF YOU NEED, OWN OR DEPEND ON ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION - YOU SHOULD JOIN WIRES!
WI
RES is the transmission industry's voice on key public policy issues at all levels of government. During this time of change and challenge in Washington and across the country, your support for WIRES - and participation in its educational and advocacy programs - are essential to building America's electrical grid to meet both current and emerging challenges.
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