Post: FERC sets out strategic priorities for energy infrastructure

FERC sets out strategic priorities for energy infrastructure

In a new five-year plan, FERC has outlined its critical priorities for the energy sector, including modernising and protecting the electric grid, improving energy infrastructure siting reviews and bolstering participation.

Unveiling the Strategic Plan FY 2022-2026 on 31 March FERC chairman Rich Glick said: “America’s energy landscape is undergoing profound change. The demand for cleaner electricity is rapidly reshaping the resource mix, and FERC must consider how to ensure the reliable delivery of affordable electricity,”

“Meanwhile, the increased attention paid to how the US generates, transports and consumes energy provides an opportunity to ensure that FERC’s permitting of necessary energy infrastructure is more efficient, open, inclusive and performed with an eye to the future. Against this backdrop, we have an important role to protect our energy infrastructure against threats driven by extreme weather and cyberattacks,” Glick said.

The plan sets out six priorities:

• Modernizing electricity market design – It noted that changes to the resource mix and load profiles make it imperative that markets are reformed to ensure that grid operators can procure new grid services, operate more flexibly, and send appropriate price signals to reflect the needs of the modern electric grid. FERC said it would conduct an examination of the existing organized wholesale electric markets to identify reforms needed and ensure markets provide appropriate incentives to resources for the operational capabilities needed by market operators. It will also identify potential reforms to existing market rules that facilitate the integration of new and emerging technologies.
• Improving the siting and review process for interstate gas pipelines, LNG facilities, and hydroelectric projects – FERC said it is working to finalize a revised analytical framework that will ensure its gas infrastructure proceedings are supported by sufficiently robust records on all factors, including issues of need for a proposed project and potential environmental impacts. FERC also noted that around 340 hydroelectric relicense applications are expected to be filed between FY 2021 and FY 2031, about one-third of all active FERC-issued licenses. The Commission committed to review license applications in a timely manner and ensure transparency regarding the potential environmental impacts and required mitigation measures.
• Safeguarding electric infrastructure from emerging threats to reliability and security – the plan noted that extreme weather events and climate change pose a serious threat to the electric grid. In addition, cyberattacks have the potential to cause widespread disruption. The Commission said it would evaluate and undertake measures to address these threats.
• Facilitating the development of the electricity infrastructure needed for the changing resource mix – Given the electricity resource mix increasingly includes resources with characteristics that differ from those that have traditionally provided supply, including resources like wind and solar, accommodating this rapid transformation will require a large amount of additional electric transmission infrastructure to cost-effectively deliver generation from these new resources to where electricity is needed, while maintaining reliability. The Commission expects to implement needed reforms through its ongoing proceeding initiated by last year’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation and Generator Interconnection.
• Improving accessibility and participation in proceedings – The document noted that removing barriers to meaningful participation by members of the public supports well-informed decision-making and said the Commission is engaging in an agency-wide effort to assess, identify and implement improvements to enable further participation.
• Promoting a strong and robust enforcement program – A strong and robust enforcement program increases the transparency of market information and enhances market confidence. It ensures that the electric grid is reliable and secure, and that infrastructure is developed in accordance with Commission regulations, rules and orders. The Commission’s existing authorities, along with its surveillance, information gathering and analytic capabilities, enable it to exercise vigilance, detect emerging compliance issues, and ensure that Commission policies, procedures and guidance are sufficient to inform industry action.

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