The Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) strongly welcomes the Transmission Notice of Proposed Rule (NOPR) Addressing Planning, Cost Allocation and applauds the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its approach to balancing the need to accelerate integrated transmission planning with state input. The clean energy transition is underway but requires transmission expansion and optimization. Transmission is a critical enabler of reduced cost, increased reliability and accelerated clean energy deployment. Quite simply, the necessary and urgent decarbonization of the power grid will be slower and more expensive without fixing the transmission planning challenges that this notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) seeks to address.

CEBA introduced an ambitious aspiration to achieve a 90% carbon-free U.S. electricity system by 2030 with the support of its membership of leading institutional energy customer companies from the commercial and industrial sectors. Expanded transmission is essential for energy customers to access clean energy when and where they need it to support their own carbon-free energy goals. Overall, optimized transmission is critical to decarbonizing the entire grid for all energy customers at least-cost with improved reliability. We look forward to working with FERC and energy market stakeholders to move this signature and timely rule-making forward. Efficient decarbonization of our entire power system depends on it.