SB 481

This bill grants to an incumbent transmission facility owner the right to

construct, own, and maintain a transmission facility that has been approved for

construction in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's (MISO)

transmission plan and that connects to transmission facilities owned by that

incumbent transmission facility owner. Under the bill, an “incumbent transmission

facility owner” is a transmission company or a cooperative or public utility that owns

a transmission facility and provides transmission service in this state. Under

current law, MISO is an organization that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission and that coordinates and controls electric

transmission in a region of the country that includes this state. The bill provides that

the right to construct, own, and maintain a transmission facility that connects to

transmission facilities owned by two or more incumbent transmission facility owners

belongs individually and proportionally to each incumbent transmission facility

owner, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing.

The bill also defines “regionally cost-shared transmission line” to mean a

high-voltage transmission line that is eligible for regional cost sharing and is not

subject to a right of first refusal in accordance with the MISO tariff. Under the bill,

if under MISO's transmission plan a regionally cost-shared transmission line has

been approved for construction and connection to facilities owned by an incumbent

transmission facility owner, the incumbent transmission facility owner must give

the Public Service Commission written notice regarding the owner's intent to

construct, own, and maintain the line no later than 90 days after approval of the

transmission plan. If the owner indicates that it does not intent to construct the line,

the bill requires it to fully explain that decision in the notice to PSC. In that case,

the bill allows PSC to determine whether the incumbent transmission facility owner

or another entity must construct the line, taking into consideration issues such as

cost, efficiency, and reliability.

The bill requires an incumbent transmission facility owner with the right to

construct a MISO-approved regionally cost-shared transmission line to include in

any application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity an estimate of

the cost of construction, along with documentation that the estimate is the result of

competitively bid engineering, procurement, and construction contracts. The bill

also requires such an incumbent transmission facility owner to provide to PSC until

construction is complete quarterly reports that include updated estimates of the

construction cost and an explanation of any changes from prior cost estimates.