Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Reactions to FERC's regional planning rule showed how difficult it will be to bridge the political divide on the issue.
Why it matters: The rule could help usher in a wave of big power line development, but it's not a panacea.
Driving the news: The commission, as expected, approved the rule on a 2–1 vote, with a handful of tweaks from the initial proposal two years ago.
- The final rule requires transmission providers to plan out 20 years into the future.
- And they'll have to use a slate of economic indicators — like alleviating grid congestion and extreme weather mitigation — when determining who pays for power lines.
Here's a good example of how the politics have played out:
- Sen. Kevin Cramer said the rule came at the "behest of radical environmentalists" and argued that it would lead to the heavily renewables-powered "grid that Democrats dream about."
- Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that after Democrats failed to enact transmission policy in the IRA debate, they "persisted and found another path through FERC."
- And then the sniping started. After Schumer said that Congress likely won't do permitting legislation this year, Sen. John Barrasso issued a statement: "If permitting reform is dead, Senator Schumer and Senate Democrats killed it."
