WIRES Newsletter – Spring 2022
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Message from our Executive Director |
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From the outset, 2022 promised to be an active year on transmission issues. So far, it has not failed to disappoint. In April, FERC issued its long-awaited proposed rule on regional transmission planning and cost allocation. While the proposed rule was mostly consistent with WIRES’ responses to and recommendations on the questions posed in the ANOPR, WIRES looks forward to providing its comments and suggested revisions on the proposed rule as we also anticipate further action soon by the Commission in a follow up rule on generator interconnection. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, WIRES continues to enhance the industry discussion of cutting edge transmission issues. Last month, WIRES welcomed FERC Commissioner James Danly as our Keynote Speaker at our Spring Meeting in Nashville, TN, and hosted panel discussions on implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and challenges to the transmission system posed by electric vehicles. Looking ahead, WIRES will welcome ISO New England CEO Gordon van Welie as the Keynote Speaker at our Summer Meeting in Newport, RI, which will also feature panel discussions on the FERC proposed transmission rule and on transmission issues for offshore wind. Finally, in the coming months, WIRES looks forward to releasing its latest report explaining the benefits to transmission infrastructure development from formula rates.
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At our Spring Meeting in Nashville we heard from FERC Commissioner Danly on the NOPR as well as from an impressive complement of experts on two panels discussing EVs and transmission, and the implementation of the IIJA. Recordings of Commissioner Danly’s remarks and the two panels are available on our Spring Meeting page.
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Be sure to mark your calendar for our next Member Meetings:
Summer Member Meeting – Newport, RI – July 27-28, 2022
Keynote speaker: Gordon van Welie, President & CEO, ISO New England
Fall Member Meeting – Washington, D.C. – Oct. 26-27, 2022
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The Viking Hotel, Newport, RI |
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Our popular Member Webinar Series continues with a number of interesting speakers this Spring. Our members appreciated hearing from Senator Heinrich recently, and we look forward to insights from two FERC speakers in the coming weeks. |
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June 7, 2022
2:00 - 3:00 PM
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“To adequately — and properly — build out a robust electric transmission grid capable of meeting clean energy and other federal and state policy objectives, we will need to plan and build all types of transmission facilities, including local, regional and interregional projects. This should come as no surprise; and yet there are those who in a well-intentioned effort to emphasize and promote regional and interregional transmission development, not only question the value of local transmission planning, they go so far as to suggest that local transmission projects are not 'the right projects' for meeting the energy needs of the future. In doing so, whether intentional or not, they set up a counterproductive false dichotomy between regional and local transmission facilities.”
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In total, WIRES’ membership accounts for ~160,000 miles of high voltage transmission, nearly 25% of all transmission lines in the U.S. |
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Duke Energy
Full Supporting Member
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Hitachi Energy
Associate Member
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Duke Energy, a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 28,000 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business and at least a 50% carbon reduction from electric generation by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The 2050 net-zero goals also include Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 emissions. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. In 2022, Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “America’s Best Employers” list. |
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Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. From our North American headquarters in Raleigh, NC, we serve the utility, industry, and infrastructure sectors. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies – across Transformers, High-Voltage equipment, Grid Automation and Grid Integration solutions - to drive the digital transformation needed to support the energy transition toward a carbon-neutral future. Hitachi Energy is a leading provider of transmission solutions, including High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) and Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS). |
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New Associate Member
WIRES is delighted to welcome Capstone as an Associate Member.
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Sharing highlights of the quarter’s earned media below including two opinion pieces, Energy Markets News podcast, Larry’s comments on the FERC NOPR and stories covering our Spring Meeting. For a complete listing of earned media, visit the WIRES In the News page.
5/6/22 – E&E News
5/2/22 – Utility Dive
4/29/22 – Utility Dive
4/28/22 – Bloomberg Law
4/26/22 – RTO Insider
March/April – Civil Engineering
3/26/22 – Bloomberg Law
3/21/22 – Utility Dive Op-Ed
Bryan Lee interviews Larry Gasteiger on transmission development
2/25/22 – T&D World op-ed
1/13/22 – E&E News
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WIRES is a non-profit trade association of investor-, publicly-, and cooperatively owned transmission providers, transmission customers, regional grid managers, and equipment and service companies. WIRES promotes investment in electric transmission and progressive state and federal policies that advance energy markets, economic efficiency, and consumer and environmental benefits through development of electric power infrastructure. For more information, visit www.wiresgroup.com.
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