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PUC to use $4.5M DOE grant and RRI approval to speed transmission and shovel‑ready projects review
Summary
The PUC said it received a US Department of Energy grant to strengthen in‑house transmission review capacity and pointed to FERC’s recent approval of PJM’s Reliability Resources Initiative (RRI) separate queue as a tool to accelerate shovel‑ready projects and reuse existing infrastructure.
Lawmakers asked the PUC what the commission is doing to reduce interconnection delays and speed the review of high‑voltage transmission projects; the PUC said it will use federal grant money and regulatory engagement to expand staff capacity and improve siting reviews.
Vice Chair Kimberly Barrow told the committee that the PUC obtained roughly $4.5 million in DOE grant funding to bolster the commission’s internal expertise and staffing for transmission siting and review. The funding will be used to analyze where regional high‑voltage lines should be built and to provide technical assistance for review of proposed projects.
Barrow said the PUC is reviewing hundreds of smaller transmission applications each year under a streamlined process for rebuilds and that the DOE grant will help the commission take a deeper look at larger high‑voltage proposals and better coordinate with PJM on regional needs. Meanwhile, Chairman DeFrank described the Reliability Resources Initiative (RRI), a FERC‑approved separate interconnection queue for shovel‑ready projects, as a new mechanism to get projects that already have interconnection infrastructure online more quickly.
Why this matters: Faster, clearer transmission and interconnection reviews can reduce lead times for new generation and reduce the number of projects held up in interconnection queues. That is especially important when data‑center demand and repowering of former plant sites are concentrated in particular corridors.
Next steps and committee requests: The PUC said it will publish recommendations and technical analysis informed by the DOE grant work and continue coordination with PJM. Lawmakers requested specifics about which projects will be covered by the review and additional timelines for DOE‑funded analyses.
