January 17, 2024

Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Urge FERC to Strengthen and Finalize Transmission Planning Rule

Washington, D.C. – Oregon U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined senate colleagues in sending a bicameral letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Willie Phillips urging the agency to strengthen and finalize its proposed transmission planning and cost allocation rule in order to address the growing need for reliability, affordability, and clean electricity.

“In recent years, we have witnessed numerous examples of grid resilience issues, which have highlighted the inadequacy of the grid to handle changing load patterns, interconnect new clean energy resources, and respond to increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events. FERC’s final rule should ensure that transmission planners account for these factors by requiring a long-term, forward-looking, 20-year planning horizon that addresses the changing circumstances and the evolution of our energy system,” wrote the lawmakers in their letter to Chair Phillips.

“In order to grow our economy, keep communities safe during extreme weather events, address historic environmental injustices, and decrease energy costs for consumers, a robust and well-planned transmission grid is essential. With a strong final rule, FERC can play a critical role in achieving these goals, fulfilling the promise of the most consequential infrastructure and climate laws in history,” the lawmakers continued.

The letter was led by U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), as well as U.S. Representative Paul Tonoko (D-N.Y.). Along with Wyden and Merkley, the letter was cosigned by U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Angus King (I-Maine), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). In addition to the Senators, 112 members of the House of Representatives sent an identical letter to the FERC. 

Full text of the letter is here.