Wire
Power lines would join regional grid operators in New Jersey
Assembly Members Andrea Katz, Clinton Calabrese and Ellen Park’s bill would require transmission owners to hand control of high-voltage lines to federally approved regional operators. Supporters say the change could cut duplicate charges and help keep power moving reliably.
In New Jersey, a bill would require transmission owners to join a transmission entity approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, before they can own or control an electric transmission facility in the state. That means the people and companies that own the high-voltage wires would have to transfer control to a regional transmission organization, independent system operator or similar federally approved entity.
The bill defines transmission owner broadly enough to include electric public utilities, so it reaches the companies that both transmit and distribute electricity to end users. It is aimed at the lines that move power in bulk before it ever reaches neighborhood distribution systems.
The costs the bill tries to trim
The measure says the point is to separate transmission control from generation control, keep access comparable and non-discriminatory, and improve reliability. It also targets “rate pancaking,” the practice of stacking duplicate transmission charges when electricity crosses more than one transmission system.
For households, that matters because transmission costs can work their way into the final price of electricity. The bill’s authors say regional coordination would make the system easier to manage and could help keep one owner’s business choices from interrupting service or adding unnecessary layers of cost.