The interstate transmission grid needs billions of dollars of new investment to provide essential reliability and to make competitive electricity markets work. Over the last twenty years, investment in transmission has fallen increasingly behind previous levels. There are a number of reasons for this failure to invest, including regulatory uncertainty, unpopularity of siting, retail rate freezes, cost responsibility disputes, internal competition for capital in vertically integrated utilities and fear of competition. We must reverse this trend and take steps that will get needed new transmission built promptly at reasonable cost. This White Paper proposes a comprehensive set of structural changes and regulatory actions to remedy this critical problem.
