BISMARCK – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted today on its transmission planning cost allocation rule. In a 2-1 decision, the Commission adopted Order 1920 with Commissioner Mark Christie dissenting.
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ranking Member of Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, released the following statement:
“The rule issued by FERC today on transmission planning is an assault on the sovereignty of the states and the two most basic mandates of the Commission: affordability and reliability. At the behest of radical environmentalists, FERC is diluting the principle of “just and reasonable rates” by socializing the cost of massive transmission projects on ratepayers even if they may not directly benefit. Expanded benefits inevitably means more ratepayers foot the bill, not less. North Dakotans are used to being the backbone of an affordable and reliable grid, but this rulemaking will force my constituents into the unaffordable and unreliable grid Democrats dream about. This will require three times more miles of high voltage overhead power lines than we already have and vast landscapes of wind turbines and solar panels – all at the mercy of the intermittent weather and imported batteries from China. Commissioner Christie and I, along with others have built a long record, warning FERC of the folly of building transmission policy around unrealistic environmental public policy objectives rather than sound engineering.”
Prior to voting to adopt the rule, Senator Cramer sent a letter in September 2023 to FERC, requesting the Commission prioritize reliability over the Democrats’ transmission wishlist. In May 2023, Senator Cramer also penned an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on the principles needed to reach a commonsense agreement on transmission.