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NEWSROOM

Highlights of key developments in the modernization and expansion of the nation’s electric grid, with an emphasis on public policy initiatives driving that evolution and WIRES’ role the field.

 

WIRES Newsletters

February 2010  April/May 2010  June/July 2010

January 2009   February 2009  March/April 2009  May 2009  July 2009  September 2009  Nov/Dec 2009

December 2008  


WIRES News Releases


1/19/2010 “No Wires, No Juice”  -- WIRES President Paul McCoy on the Pickens Pullback, from renewablesbiz.com

1/14/2010 WIRES Statement About T. Boone Pickens' Withdrawal in Texas

11/3/2009  WIRES Joins Other Stakeholders in Telling Senate Leaders That Cost Allocation Provision of S. 1462 is Unworkable
See also: Letter

10/27/2009  WIRES Lauds Smart Grid 'Campaign' and Funding - With a Caveat 

10/5/2009  Paul McCoy of Trans-Elect Becomes WIRES President; Group Focuses on Making the Case for Transmission
 
4/17/2009 WIRES Letter to Carol Browner Outlines Priorities and Perspectives Regarding Legislative Agenda

4/15/2009  WIRES Commentary: Enthusiasm for Electric Transmission Legislation Should Be Tempered By Pragmatism and Broad Goals

3/16/2009  WIRES Welcomes Progress In the Reid and Bingaman Transmission Bills
 
2/27/2009 WIRES Co-Hosts Transmission 102

2/25/2009 WIRES Statement on Smart Grid Issues Before U.S. House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

2/23/2009  WIRES Expresses Praise and Support for EFC and CAP Efforts on Electric Transmission Expansion

1/31/2009 Transmission Initiatives Prominent in Stimulus Package; Other Opportunities Also Loom to Press Case for Transmission

10/20/2008 

Shift to Renewable Power Generation Demands New Approaches to Transmission Challenges

10/09/2007

WIRES Applauds Transmission Corridor Designation

09/25/2007

Blue Ribbon Panel Endorses Clear Principles for Electric Transmission Cost Allocation

01/24/2007

New Trade Group to Focus on Strengthening the Electric Grid
 


Media Coverage of Transmission


6/29/2010  Senate Energy Chairman Drafting Utility-Only Climate Bill, from ClimateWire 

6/8/2010  For Grid Expansion, Think ‘Subregionally’ from The Energy Daily Network
Commentary by Peter Fox-Penner, Johannes Pfeifenberger and Delphine Hou
 
6/2010  The 21st Century Grid: Can we fix the infrastructure that powers our lives? from National Geographic (June 2010)

 
5/12/2010  U.S. Electrical Grid Undergoes Massive Transition to Connect to Renewables, from Scientific American 
 
5/12/2010  Sens. Kerry, Lieberman Unveil American Power Act [Read the bill]

5/4/2010  Building Out Transmission, from RenewablesBiz
Bill Opalka, RenewablesBiz Daily Editor. "Republished with permission from CyberTech, Inc. RenewablesBiz Daily is published by Energy Central. For more information about RenewablesBiz, or to subscribe to RB Daily or other e-newsletters or
magazines, please go to
http://www.renewablesbiz.com/."
 
5/3/2010  A New Cost-Sharing Plan for Transmitting More Renewable Energy, from The New York Times/ClimateWire (May 3, 2010) 
 
4/30/2010  4 Power Line Projects Coming for Oklahoma, from EnergyCentral (April 30, 2010)

News Release [EPRI]:
Electric Power Research Institute Collaborative Aims to Improve Efficiency of Transmission Grid (April 30, 2010)
 
4/27/2010  Renewable Energy Goals Powering Investment in North American Electricity Transmission, from seekingalpha.com

4/19/2010  Southwest Power Pool Proposes New Cost Sharing Method for Expanding Regional Transmission Grid, from spp.org (April 19, 2010)
Read SPP's FERC Filing 

3/31/2010  FERC Staff Working With Welch On Possible Least-Cost Planning Bill, from EnergyWashington Week (March 31, 2010)

3/31/2010  Greening the Grid, from EnergyBizInsider (March 31, 2010)

3/25/2010  Renewable Group Says Bill Doesn't Set Right Standard for Who Pays for Power Lines, from The Hill (March 25, 2010)
Read the Energy Future Coalition’s letter (.pdf)

3/23/2010  FERC Considering Cost Allocation Rulemaking, from energywashington.com (March 23, 2010)
See also: 
Chairman Wellinghoff's testimony
 

The Transmission Line newsletter, Issue Three (Cost Allocation)
A newsletter written and produced by ITC Holdings Corp.

3/17/2010 29 Governors Support Transmission For Renewables
Read the governors’ press release and “Great Expectations” report
Read the governors’ letters to President Obama and congressional leaders

3/10/2010  New Report Shows Electric Transmission Investment Growing, from Transmission and Distribution World

3/9/2010  Midwest CEOs Fail To Reach Compromise On Cost Allocation Language, from EnergyWashington Week
 
3/9/2010  Development of Wind Energy Transmission Lines Important, Difficult, Speakers Say, from Midland (TX) Reporter-Telegram

3/3/2010  Northeastern States Face Homegrown Issues, from EnergyCentral (March 3, 2010)
 
2/10/2010  Addressing Transmission Contrarians, from EnergyBizInsider

2/8/2010  Transmission Strain, from EnergyBizInsider

2/3/2010  Obama Nominees Set to Tackle Large U.S. Energy Infrastructure, E&E News (February 3, 2010)

1/30/2010  China Spent $45 Billion in 2009 For Transmission To Bring Windpower to Market -- Is the US Up to the Challenge? from the New York Times
 
1/27/2010 State Regulators Still Strongly Distrust Federal Transmission Siting – Study, from Greenwire
 
1/27/2010  New Directions in Transmission, from energybiz insider 

1/27/2010 Draft Jobs Package has $11B for Efficiency; Details Expected Thursday, from E&E News

1/26/2010  Wind's Big Success Will Depend on Transmission:
AWEA News Release
Wind Power Grows 39% for the Year, from The New York Times

1/20/2010  Big Boost in Wind Power Doable But Complicated in Eastern U.S. -- Study, from Greenwire
 
1/20/2010  Supreme Court Won’t Review Decision Narrowing Federal Siting Authority,
from Greenwire

1/18/2010  Fast Tracking Green Projects, from energycentral.com

1/15/2010 Opinion: The U.S. Needs An Infrastructure Bank, from The Wall Street Journal

1/14/2010 Pickens Shelves Texas Wind Project - Transmission Is Once Again Proven Essential to Renewable Energy, from The Wall Street Journal 

12/14/2009
 
Midwest ISO Study Results Consistent with ITC's Green Power Express

11/17/2009  ITC Holdings' The Transmission Line Addresses Transmission Planning

11/5/2009  Collaborative Plans Projects to Improve Transmission Efficiency, from Greenwire

10/29/2009  Transmission, Renewables Integration Top List of Issues in NERC’s Ten-Year Electric Reliability Outlook 

9/18/2009  Utilities kick off study of transmission lines, from Finance and Commerce

9/11/2009  U.S. climate bill should not delay grid overhaul: FERC, from Reuters
 
8/31/2009  Duke University: Transmission-Asset REITs Could Overcome Ownership Obstacles, from SNL Interactive
→ Read the report from the Duke Climate Change Partnership 

8/12/2009 Transmission Groups Push Senate Cost Allocation Provision Changes, from Energy Washington Week

8/8/2009  Tests Loom for Nation’s Power Grid, from Bloomberg News

  View the first issue of The Transmission Line, a newsletter on transmission issues from WIRES member company ITC Holdings Corp.

7/31/2009 

The Transmission Question from EnergyBiz Insider

7/20/2009  FERC Chairman Sets Forth An Energy Market Vision

7/6/2009  Greenwire and The Washington Post look at efforts underway to craft the U.S. Senate's version of climate change legislation
 
6/26/2009 

Coverage of passage of climate legislation by the House of Representatives:
 
The Washington Post
  The New York Times
  The Wall Street Journal


 
6/17/2009  Energy Bill Advances in Senate, from The Associated Press/washingtonpost.com 

6/17/2009  Senate Panel Clears Energy Bill in 15-8 Vote, from The Wall Street Journal Online
 
4/23/2009  Transmission Advocates Present Federal Legislation Wish List, from SNL.com 

4/22/2009 The Super Grid: Practical or a Pipe Dream? from Energy Central

4/22/2009  Browner Urged by WIRES to Push ‘Sensible’ Grid Reform

 
4/8/2009  Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated By Spies, from The Wall Street Journal

3/22/2009 Even With Solar, Power-Line Battles Loom, from The Arizona Republic

3/12/2009 Obama Admin. Faces Power Grid vs. Public Lands Conundrum, from The New York Times

3/5/2009  Senate Leader Offers Plan for 'Green' Power Grid, from The Associated Press

3/5/2009  "Smart Grid Will Need More Federal Power: GE Exec," from Reuters

2/2009  Study: Billions Needed to Deliver Wind Power to Eastern Interconnection from Joint Coordinated System Plan

Industry Developments


5/20/2010  FERC Seeks to Ensure Open Transmission Access, Gives Guidance to Western Proposal - SunZia
 
4/29/2010  News Release: FERC Proposes to Lift Price Caps for Transmission Customers Reassigning Capacity under RM10-22
 
1/21/2010  FERC Tackles ICC v. FERC Remand By Asking More Questions On Cost Allocation 

12/18/2009  Secretary Chu Announces Efforts to Strengthen U.S. Electric Transmission Networks
See also: Transmission Efforts Gain Stimulus Nod, from IntelligentUtility Daily

12/1/2009  New EEI Data Show Continued Interest in Transmission Investment in 2008 

11/24/2009  Wind Industry Calls for Improved Transmission Pricing and Planning Processes From FERC 

11/23/2009
 
GridWise Alliance Praises DOE for Making Modernization Happen

11/11/2009  States Seal Pact to Lure Offshore Wind Industry to Their Shores
See also: Memorandum of Understanding

11/2009  Industry Coalition Pushes for Electrification of the Transportation Sector, Claiming "the Power Sector's Infrastructural Backbone is Already in Place."
 
10/28/2009  Federal Agencies Agree to Expedite Transmission Permits on Federal Lands, Federal Government News Release

10/19/2009  Reid: Improve the Transmission System, from Roll Call
 
10/8/2009  FERC Staff Gathers Comments on Tech Conferences Regarding Transmission Planning Under Order 890

7/19/2009  Brattle Group’s Peter Fox-Penner Calls on Nation’s Governors to Lead Regional Improvements in Transmission Planning
 
7/16/2009  FERC Adopts Policy for Development of Smart Grid (FERC news release)
See also: Policy Statement, comments from: Chairman Wellinghoff, Commissioners Kelly and Spitzer 
 
6/12/2009  The House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing titled, "The Future of the Grid:  Proposals for Reforming National Transmission Policy" on June 12, 2009.  It addressed proposals for new legislation on transmission planning, cost allocation, and siting authority.
 
  Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) Introduces Legislation Giving FERC Authority
to Site Interstate Electric Power Lines

 
3/12/2009  Large Public Power Council: Congress Should Clear Obstacles to Transmission Development
See also: LPPC Transmission Investment Principles

2/24/2009  American Public Power Association Urges Congress, FERC, to Improve Bulk Electric System; Supports Workable Federal Renewable Electricity Standard, from American Public Power Assn. news release

2/17/2009 American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) white paper: Green Power Superhighways: Building a Path to America’s Clean Energy Future
See also: news release (2/18/09)

1/27/2009  Western Governors’ Association Proposals to Congress on Transmission Issues 

More information about WIRES can be obtained by contacting:

Jim Hoecker, Counsel and Advisor to WIRES
202-549-0584
202-378-2316
jhoecker@helppllc.com
james.hoecker@huschblackwell.com






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