US power regulator to control renewable energy electric superhighway

12 March 2009

A key provision of a proposed new energy legislation introduced by senate majority leader Harry Reid is expected to open the way for a national energy transmission superhighway.

Under the draft legislation released by the panel headed by Reid, the US regulators would take from states the authority to approve certain high-voltage power lines in order to accelerate the development of renewable energy.

Presently, legal jurisdiction on transmission lines goes to the state regulatory agency.

The proposal would give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authority to approve lines that would carry electricity such as wind and solar energy.
The energy committee, led by Democratic Senator Jeff Bingman of New Mexico, is to soon review the draft in its hearing on 12 March.

The new legislation "is not perfect, and there is ample room for improvement," Reid said in a news release introducing the bill.

President Barck Obama had earlier reiterated his vision for the US to build 3,000 miles of new transmission lines and double renewable energy use by 2012.