How utilities are getting in on the transmission building boom
Expansion of renewable resources and new gas generation under the Clean Power Plan is expected to require thousands of miles of new transmission infrastructure in the coming years, and increasingly utilities are getting in on the race to build it.
The first wave of competitive transmission developers has already emerged, mostly spawned by utility affiliates, partnerships, and joint ventures. But new ones keep appearing, as evidenced by three recently green-lighted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Ameren-affiliate ATX Southwest Ameren, Westar Energy-affiliate Kanstar Transmission, and Midwest Power Transmission Arkansas, a joint venture of Westar and Berkshire Hathaway Energy, were approved by FERC to compete to build transmission in unregulated markets in August.
Competitive transmission developers have the advantage of being able to work outside specific utility service territories and to access capital either from the utility balance sheet or market equity,” observed former FERC Chair James Hoecker, now the WIRES Group Counsel and Husch Blackwell Senior Counsel & Energy Strategist.
“These are ways to improve the utility’s bottom line by engaging in infrastructure development outside the service territory,” Hoecker said. “It is not a new line of business because utilities are about building infrastructure. But it is a departure.”
As indicated in the three new entries’ FERC filings, MTP Arkansas will enter the competition for projects planned by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and ATX Southwest and Kanstar will take part in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) market.
“Both regions are talking about the need to strengthen their grids, so we believe there is a lot of opportunity as they go through their planning processes and identify needed projects,” said Westar Energy Spokesperson Gina Penzig of her company’s MTP Arkansas and Kanstar affiliates’ intentions.
