Local transmission spending soars nationwide amid ‘serious absence of cost containment’

In New England, Eversource and National Grid are advancing two local projects totaling $724 million as state utility regulators push for more oversight.

Spending on local transmission projects has been increasing across the United States with little regulatory oversight, according to a report from RMI.

In New England, for example, annual spending on local transmission projects, called asset condition projects in the region, increased eight-fold from 2016 to nearly $800 million in 2023, RMI, a clean energy think tank, said in its report, Mind the Regulatory Gap: How to Enhance Local Transmission Oversight.

ISO New England’s updated list of asset condition projects, which are primarily upgrades to aging transmission infrastructure, includes 14 new projects totaling $977 million, including two Eversource and National Grid projects in New Hampshire that total $724 million, according to an Oct. 23 ISO-NE presentation. Also, upgrades totaling $316 million have been placed into service since June, per the presentation.

Despite their overall cost, local transmission projects don’t receive a meaningful review from grid operators or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state regulators typically have little oversight over them, according to RMI. Local transmission projects are developed separate from regional transmission planning.

“This regulatory gap has corresponded with a broad nationwide shift in transmission spending from regional transmission projects to local projects,” RMI said. “This shift can in part be attributed to the incentives created by a lack of accountability resulting from the regulatory gap.”

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