Earth Equity News

State Regulators Strongly Distrust Federal Transmission Siting. By Katherine Ling, Greenwire, January 25, 2010. "State regulators and environmental groups fear federal authority to site transmission lines would create a process that would emphasize infrastructure over costs and environmental benefits, according to a survey unveiled today by the University of Texas Center for Energy Economics and the Terra Group, a stakeholder relations consultant. The nine-month survey [PDF, 20 pp] of 11 state regulatory commissions and major national environmental organizations found that while both groups admit that the U.S. transmission system should be improved both for reliability and environmental purposes, they believe placing that power in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will lead to overly expensive lines that are not all necessarily needed. Many of the state regulators surveyed said they do not believe FERC could adequately balance local costs and needs versus the needs of a few states, the report says."