Missouri First Transmission Act receives hearing in the Missouri Senate
Senate committee considers critical transmission legislation
Members of the Missouri Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee discussed and debated legislation allowing Missouri utilities to build the electric grid of the future. Senate Bill 805 gives existing owners of in-state transmission assets the right-of-first refusal (ROFR) on all transmission projects that connect to their systems and are approved by regional transmission organizations. In addition, the legislation includes language encouraging the co-location of new transmission assets with other existing infrastructure and measures designed to establish land mitigation standards when new transmission lines are built on private property. Senate Bill 805 also contains reforms intended to control costs within these new transmission infrastructure projects.
Regional transmission organizations, such as the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), have the power to decide when and where most of the electric transmission projects are built in the Midwest. Despite this power, federal law includes a mechanism allowing states to assert more control over these decisions. While many of Missouri's neighboring states have laws in place to exercise this type of authority, legislation similar to SB 805 would need to be passed by lawmakers in the Show-Me State to grant Missouri, not out-of-state entities, this same decision-making ability.
As part of its Long-Range Transmission Planning (LRTP) initiative, MISO has identified 18 projects that make up phase one of its long-term plan. Of those 18 projects, portions of three will take place in northern Missouri. In states with right-of-first-refusal laws, these LRTP projects can begin as soon as they are approved by MISO. In states without these policies in place, like Missouri, these transmission projects will be forced to go through a lengthy competitive bid process that could take up to two years to complete.
Tony Clark, a former commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), joins Sen. Rusty Black, R-Chilicothe, and speaks in support of SB 805. Photo provided by the Missouri Senate.
"Passing SB 805 will put Missouri among the majority of states in the Midwest that now afford their customers and landowners the benefits provided by a state ROFR law," said Tony Clark, former FERC commissioner and senior advisor with Wilkinson, Barke and Knauer LLP. "Missouri's customer-serving utilities have greater accountability to your constituents because they are the ones that are serving retail customers in the state. When questions need to be answered about line siting, construction, reliability, operations and cost impacts on Missouri ratepayers, it means state officials will be calling locally regulated utility operators to get answers, not an office half the country or half the world away."
During the hearing, several groups and landowners joined Tony Clark and spoke in support of the legislation, including the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Burns & McDonnell and others. Following testimony on SB 805, the committee did not take any further action on the legislation.