SB 28

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” includes a transmission company or transmission utility (a cooperative or public utility that owns a transmission facility and provides transmission service in this state), regardless of whether this state is its principal place of business or where it is organized or headquartered. 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.

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 or 90 days after the date on which this bill becomes law, whichever is later. 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 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.

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.

The bill requires an incumbent transmission facility owner with the right to construct a MISO-approved regionally cost-shared transmission line to, as soon as practicable after the information is available, submit a report to PSC, the assembly speaker, the assembly minority leader, the senate majority leader, the senate minority leader, and the governor detailing the amount of the costs of the transmission line project that are being charged to energy consumers outside this state.

The bill sunsets the rights and responsibilities created under the bill after 10 years.