Should interconnection participant funding be reformed or replaced?

By Scheridan Vorwaller-Cloward and David Gelder

Much has been said about the increasing delays and vastly unpredictable costs to interconnect new generators to the grid. In many regions the interconnection process is a significant bottleneck to the energy transition—and stakeholders generally agree this needs fixing. In 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requested public comment on reforms “to build the transmission system of the future” and received over 600 submittals to date (RM21-17-000). FERC is anticipated to issue a complete response in 2023.

While seemingly complex, the root problem is simple: Our nation’s grid is overly congested and undersized for growth. So, what does the ‘system of the future’ look like—and who pays for it?

Read the full article in PowerGrid International.