The Biden administration is considering federal support for transmission development in certain areas, but many landowners have opposed the plan, including in Oklahoma and Kansas.

The U.S. Department of Energy on Monday opened a 60-day public comment on three potential national interest electric transmission corridor designations, known as NIETCs, which would allow the federal government to support and expedite grid expansion projects in those areas.

The three potential NIETCs were chosen from an initial list of 10, published in May. The remaining areas are: the Lake Erie-Canada Corridor, including parts of Lake Erie and Pennsylvania; the Southwestern Grid Connector Corridor, including parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and a “small portion” of western Oklahoma; and the Tribal Energy Access Corridor, including central parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and five Tribal Reservations.

“A lack of transmission infrastructure can directly contribute to higher electricity prices, more frequent power outages from extreme weather, and longer outages as the grid struggles to come back online,” DOE said. The NIETC process was amended by the 2021 the bipartisan infrastructure law, allowing DOE to identify areas where consumers are harmed, or will be harmed, by a lack of transmission in the area.

Transmission projects located within a NIETC are eligible for federal loans to support development.

Monday’s announcement kicked off a third phase of the designation process, during which DOE will refine geographic boundaries, determine the appropriate level of environmental review for each NIETC, and conduct any environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

“Additionally, DOE is aware of potential impacts to military testing, training, and operations and will continue working with the DoD Military Aviation and Assurance Siting Clearinghouse to address these impacts as these potential NIETCs are further refined in Phase 3,” the agency said.