The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on July 31 passed a permitting reform bill authored by Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY).
The bill, S. 4753, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, passed by a vote of 15 to 4.
APPA is generally supportive of the permitting reforms, including reasonable time limits for certain judicial actions and increased access to federal lands for all types of energy production, included in Titles I and II and the Electric Reliability provisions, which would require the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to weigh in on federal rules that could impact the reliability of the bulk power system in Title V.
However, APPA remains concerned that Title IV (Electric Transmission) would expand the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jurisdiction over public power transmitting utilities. Federal Power Act section 201(f) excludes public power utilities from FERC jurisdiction over interstate transmission and wholesale sales of electricity, unless otherwise specified.
Title IV of S. 4735 would grant FERC jurisdiction over public power transmitting utilities (as well as other 201(f) entities such as electric cooperatives and federal power marketing agencies) with respect to (a) new transmission lines that FERC designates to be in the national interest and (b) participation in interregional transmission planning processes.
APPA is concerned about this unnecessary expansion of FERC’s jurisdiction over public power utilities, but also believes these requirements will reduce the number of 201(f) entities interested in meaningfully participating in either of these processes.
APPA also appreciates that Title VII (Hydropower) includes modest changes designed to alleviate timeline constraints for projects that have experienced construction delays due to external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shocks. APPA believes more can be done to address much-needed reforms for non-federal hydropower licensing and relicensing.
During the markup, Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed their desire to further refine and improve the bill, APPA plans to continue to advocate for improvements that would address public power’s concerns.
