Law360 Quotes Chip Cannon on FERC Transmission Development Authority as an Energy Policy Trend to Watch in 2022
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For its article “Energy Policy To Watch In 2021,” Law360 quoted Akin Gump energy regulation, markets and enforcements practice head Chip Cannon on the topic of transmission development.
According to Law360, in a July advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that could overhaul its existing transmission rules, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) did not address the topic of how to ensure projects can be sited and built, an authority generally reserved for states. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act clarifies the Energy Department’s authority to designate national transmission corridors, and the FERC’s authority to site lines within them even if these lines are rejected by a state regulator.
Cannon said, “The jurisdictional relationship between FERC and states can be tense at times. It would take an awful lot of political will for FERC to actually use that authority aggressively to get the transmission built that really matters.”