H.R. 9843, Transmission Cost Allocation Framework. Quorum's AI analysis reads it as a trade-off: gains for some, costs for others.
H.R. 9843 · Mixed
What it does
This bill amends federal power law to allow utilities proposing large interstate or offshore transmission lines (1,000+ megawatts capacity, or 500+ megawatt expansions) to file tariffs with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that allocate construction costs to customers in their region based on the benefits those customers receive. The bill requires cost allocation to be 'roughly commensurate' with anticipated benefits across reliability, economics, public policy, and resilience factors.
The analysis names large integrated utilities (WEC, AEP, EIX, NRG) — and 2 more groups — among the beneficiaries.
The trade-off
The phrase 'broad range of reliability, economic, public policy, resilience, and other reasonably anticipated benefits' is undefined and grants utilities significant discretion to classify costs as benefits, potentially allowing cost-shifting to ratepayers who do not directly benefit from the transmission facility.
Transparency scores 55%, with a medium warning level and no provisions unrelated to the bill's subject.
Who is behind it
Filed by Kathy Castor.