US energy chief says transmission grid expansion must begin now

 
Washington (Platts)--3Mar2006
The US energy secretary Thursday said the necessary expansion and
modernization of the nationa's power grid must begin in earnest because of the
long lead times associated with transmission projects and projected increases
electricity demand. 

     "Many of the projects we need to undertake will require years of planning
and regulatory review before construction can begin, [and] some will have lead
times of 10 to 15 years, or longer," Samuel Bodman said in a speech at the
Canadian Embassy. "What that means, however, is that we must get started now,
if these facilities are to be in place when we will need them." 

     Bodman said the Department of Energy is developing a study for Congress
on transmission congestion, adding that the findings will help him to decide
whether to designate power "corridors" where bottlenecks need to be relieved
for the "national interest." 

     Such a designation would allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
to use eminent domain authority to ensure major transmission chokepoints are
eliminated. The secretary reassured the Canadian government and industry
officials that DOE would solicit their views before making decisions affecting
their grid. 

     "[W]e are well aware that some of these corridors may affect transmission
development projects that would cross our common border, and so we are
conscious of the need to conduct this congestion study with Canadian input,"
he said. "In particular, the study will draw substantially on existing
trans-border planning studies that have already been done through the regional
reliability councils," Bodman said.

                       ---Mike Schmidt, mike_schmidt@platts.com

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