Gramlich at the Boqueria Dupont. Photo: Daniel Moore/Axios
Rob Gramlich was working to build more power lines to connect clean energy before it was cool, Daniel writes.
Why he matters: Gramlich, a former FERC adviser and wind energy lobbyist, is founder and president of Grid Strategies LLC, a prolific publisher of reports that aim to demystify the power grid.
- Gramlich serves as a grid guru for renewable energy companies, electric utilities, states, consumer advocates, and congressional offices.
Gramlich sat down with Axios at Boqueria Dupont. His remarks have been edited for length.
You've hailed the Senate permitting reform proposal that the energy committee approved in July. Why are the transmission provisions so important?
As a reliability matter, we keep seeing instances of severe weather threatening generation supplies. Interregional transmission is the best way to keep the lights on by delivering power from next door. Interregional transmission has never been seriously addressed by FERC.
Why have building transmission lines — ubiquitous and necessary features of our power grid — become so politically polarizing in DC?
[George W.] Bush and many other Republicans were really driving that initiative in [the 2000s]. It's been a little amusing — but also depressing — it's become partisan in the other direction lately.
It's just a symptom of the partisanship we have today, where if one party is the first one to speak up on an issue, then the pattern is the other party says they should either be opposed or they should just withhold their support in order to get something for it.
What's the winning argument with Republicans to get them to support transmission lines?
Republican offices care about reliability, and they care a lot about power demand and economic development. Everybody agrees we want to manufacture chips in this country. Well, guess what? You need a lot of electricity for that.
Are you confident this will ultimately pass?
I'm assured by people who are smarter about politics that there are scenarios that mean like this is worth our time to help develop a good bill because it really could happen. So that's all I need to know for me spending my time working on it.
