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How They Steal Your Power

9/2/2024

What's scarier to greedy corporate interests than a grassroots movement against their industry? Your success! Corporate interests, whether it's the electric transmission industry, housing, data centers, or any other invasive and destructive industry are terrified of being thwarted by grassroots movements in the communities where they want to make money.

Last week, a grassroots group opposed to a new transmission line through central Maryland took their fight to the industry at a conference celebrating the data center industry in Frederick, Maryland.

But the well-publicized protest was anticipated by conference organizers, who met the challenge with attempts to steal the protestors' power.

Leaders of the Maryland Technology Council, which organized the daylong session, had anticipated the ruckus. They briefed conference attendees on protocols and strategies for coping with the protesters and insisted that the proposed power line project is not directly connected to the Quantum Loophole data center campus, which is in the early stages of development in Frederick County.

Let's examine this article using one of my favorite tools -- the seven common propaganda devices. This tool is one of the oldest in the propaganda handbook.

The device employed most frequently by the conference organizers was "Name Calling."

First example -- in the quoted paragraph above the demonstration was referred to as "the ruckus." Protestors were also referred to as "noisy", a "flashmob", and "outraged". A noisy, outraged, flashmob ruckus, a description that is intended to turn the reader against the protestors. It's an ad hominem argument... don't pay any attention to what those people are saying because they are members of an unacceptable group.

Protestors were also called uneducated.

While Quantum Loophole executives tried to talk to some of the protesters during the lunch hour, Rick Weldon, president of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce, later said some of the demonstrators at the community college Thursday didn’t have access to all the relevant information — and that some would be tough to persuade.

“Frankly, no matter what the subject, they’re going to hold up a sign and yell at you because they don’t want anything to change,” he said.

...another name calling technique to marginalize you and steal your power. I'm going to guess that Rick Weldon knows a lot less about MPRP than any one of the protestors, but he uses his position to create a presumption of superior knowledge. The "education deficit" model has been a long time favorite of transmission project proponents. They like to think that opposition to transmission only happens because the community doesn't have enough information to make a sensible decision. However the opposite is actually true, the more you know about a proposed transmission project, the worse it sounds. No amount of information or "education" can change the mind of a landowner threatened by new transmission ripping through his largest investment.

Uneducated outrage is how opponents were framed in order to make conference attendees see them as an unacceptable group who should not be acknowledged.

Meanwhile, conference organizers employed "Glittering Generalities" to boost their own position. Jobs, school funding, dramatic growth in local businesses, Maryland's economy, land conservation, hiking and biking trails, and the most vague of all... a bright future!

Conference organizers also tried to sever Maryland's data centers from the MPRP. Either they are uneducated themselves, or they are spinning a carefully crafted alternate reality. Although Quantum Loophole's power supply is being provided by upgrading a dedicated transmission line to the old Eastalco plant, that doesn't mean QL won't benefit from MPRP. Quantum Loophole's dedicated transmission line feeds power from the Doubs substation to Quantum Loophole. Doubs is also the endpoint for the MPRP. All power flowing through MPRP is delivered to Doubs, where it is transferred to the numerous lines feeding out of Doubs, including the one to Quantum Loophole. Power from MPRP will absolutely be used at Quantum Loophole. Could Quantum Loophole get as much power as it needed if MPRP was cancelled? PJM Interconnection planned MPRP as one of several new 500kV transmission lines to serve data center load in Virginia and Maryland. And since Quantum Loophole seems to support MPRP, it stands to reason they think they will benefit from it.

The public relations war is heating up. But what will they say when those same protestors put down their protest signs and go inside the PSC to defend their properties through the legal process? Will Quantum Loophole step up to defend MPRP? Or will it use proxies to do so, such as labor unions and local business groups? A different kind of war will break out at the PSC once the application is filed, and that's where the ultimate decision will be made.

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Loudoun Pushes Data Center Burden Onto Neighboring States

8/21/2024

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Loudoun County, Virginia, has the largest concentration of data centers in the world. The world! It also has the nickname "Data Center Alley." Loudoun County has become gross with data centers, and continues building more. The data centers are Loudoun County's cash cow, providing a third of its annual budget. Loudoun County is also the wealthiest county in the nation. The entire nation! Loudoun County is home to the rich and, due to its proximity to Washington, D.C., the powerful as well. The rich and powerful thought nothing of Loudoun destroying its eastern regions, tossing them on the altar of the data center cash cow. After all, more data center tax revenue means less taxes for the rich and powerful in the western regions of Loudoun. Out of sight, out of mind! Living near nasty infrastructure was fine for the plebeians, as long as the benefits from hosting it flowed to the rich and powerful.

But then something happened... the data centers needed more resources than Loudoun County had. Now, normal people in that situation would begin building the resources needed to feed their cash cow, but that's not how things are done in Loudoun. Loudoun continued to build its data centers and expected the needed resources would come from neighboring states just like magic. Except importing those resources come with consequences, like new transmission extension cords. Perish the thought! Transmission lines are fine for those other states that still *gasp* burn coal to create electricity to power Loudoun's data centers, but they absolutely cannot happen in Loudoun! Loudoun is ruled by the rich and powerful, don't cha know, and they absolutely cannot be burdened with anything so ugly and gauche as an electric transmission line bringing power to their data centers.

So the rich and powerful grabbed their government servants by the scruff of their necks and demanded that the government make the bad stuff go away... or else!

The Loudoun County government and local elected officials began holding secret meetings with NextEra, other transmission companies, PJM, and Western Loudoun's Sacred Cows to find a way to push the transmission nasties out of Loudoun. After all, aren't those other states lesser trash cans in service of the rich and powerful in Loudoun? When other citizens who would be impacted by a transmission line re-route asked to be included in the meetings, they were purposely excluded. And wouldn't you know it... that's exactly where the MARL transmission line ended up... on the property of the landowners who tried to be included in the secret government meetings. Loudoun County met with and did the bidding of a handful of rich and powerful citizens to TAKE property from other citizens not as fortunate. Pepe' Le Pew tells me that kind of discrimination stinks to high heaven!

And so the MARL transmission line got pushed out of Loudoun County and over into Frederick and Montgomery Counties Maryland. Benefits for Loudoun, impacts for neighboring states.

The re-route will cost everyone in PJM an additional $167M to spare the sacred cows in Loudoun. Loudoun thought nothing of this, even though other towns who ask for transmission siting concessions are usually required to pay the difference.

I'm starting to understand why Loudoun is the wealthiest county in the U.S. -- it doesn't pay its own way. Loudoun County takes from neighboring states like a parasitic worm.

And now here they go again, with another transmission line that Loudoun County has demanded be buried for a short section that abuts another group of Sacred Cow homes. That's all fine and good, but the burial is going to cost an additional $423M, a project cost increase of 61%! Between these two transmission projects, saving Loudoun will cost electric consumers in other states more than half a billion dollars!

And who pays for that? Every last electric customer in the PJM region. Both of these projects that disturb Loudoun's delicate sensibilities are regional reliability projects that are charged 50% to all PJM consumers based on their load share ratio, and the other 50% is charged to the "users" of the project, which spreads to neighboring states like West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Virginia is only paying a portion of the cost of the new transmission extension cords to serve their data centers. Any increase in costs will come out of the pockets of everyone in the PJM region.

So, how does Loudoun County think the burial of transmission lines near Landsdowne should be paid for?

As for the excess cost, the County believes that a special customer class, made up of high-wattage customers, would be proper for the Commission to consider. The increase in electrical demand can be directly traced to the connection of an identifiable class of such high-wattage users to the grid. It is in the public interest for the Commission to shift the cost of undergrounding some of these lines to the high-wattage customers creating the demand for them.

Well, that's a low-information expert for ya... Buddy Rizer doesn't know diddly about utility rates. While Virginia *could* create a new rate class, it absolutely will not do so within this docket. Asking for something like that is outside the bounds of this proceeding. Therefore, Loudoun is not providing any way to pay for the excess cost. And, even if Virginia created a new data center customer class to charge its share of the transmission extension cords to the data centers it hosts, that doesn't do a damned thing for the ratepayers in other states, who don't have any data centers (or data center classes) to charge their share of the excess cost of burying lines in Loudoun County in order to spare Loudoun any impacts. It's another selfish suggestion on the part of Loudoun County. And where was Loudoun County when we were arguing at FERC about whether Virginia's data centers should pick up the entire $5B cost of the Window 3 projects meant to serve them? Nowhere. It doesn't want to pay for the projects it has caused. It just wants all the benefits without any of the impacts.

It's all over Buddy Rizer's testimony. And for the rest of us who don't benefit from Loudoun's data centers, or keeping Loudoun free from invasive transmission projects, it's positively revolting!

buddy_rizer_testimony
File Size:	575 kb
File Type:	buddy rizer testimony

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The citizens of Loudoun County are expressing significant concern about the impact that further above-ground transmission lines will have on their community. With hundreds of miles of these lines already crisscrossing the County, citizens are hoping for a thoughtful approach to future development. Numerous comments from the community reflect a growing movement to explore alternatives to traditional transmission lines. Organizations such as the Lansdowne Conservancy, Waterford Foundation, Loudoun Transmission Line Alliance, and Piedmont Environmental Council have organized public meetings to oppose these proposals, driven by a strong desire to prevent overhead transmission lines from dominating the landscape and causing irreparable harm to historic, economic, and natural resources in Loudoun. The community opposition was key in PJM’s decision to approve an alternate route for delivery.
WHAT MEASURES CAN BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LOUDOUN COUNTY’S SCENIC ASSETS FROM THE IMPACT OF HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER LINES?
Where appropriate and feasible, undergrounding may provide a reliable and long- lasting energy transmission solution that is less prone to outages with minimal disruption to the look and feel of the community at large. This approach will preserve the landscape for current and future residents and maintain the history and beauty of the County. Additionally, it supports a reliable and sustainable path forward as Virginia works to meet its energy production and transmission goals. By placing power lines underground, impact to scenic assets can be minimized while ensuring a resilient and efficient power infrastructure.

Don't get me wrong... I don't believe anybody should be impacted by transmission lines. And that's the difference between me and Loudoun County... Loudoun County seems to think that only its special residents should be free from the impacts of its data center extension cords. Loudoun County is perfectly okay with impacts to landowners in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Loudoun County isn't advocating for its extension cords to be buried in those other states. Those people simply don't matter to Loudoun County, except when they pay the extra cost of keeping Loudoun transmission line free.

It's about time that Loudoun started shouldering its own data center burden. The data center transmission problem is completely of Loudoun County's making. It could end it in a hot minute by putting a moratorium on data centers. It could also solve it by building some new electric generators in Loudoun near the data centers. Why don't you do these things instead of taking from neighboring states to fill your own coffers, Loudoun County? Solve your own problem! Your neighbors are quite sick of your hubris. Here's a little advice from one of your favorite people!

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Another Senator Vows To Stop NIETCs

8/17/2024

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Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri was the first U.S. Senator to oppose the U.S. Department of Energy's recent proposal of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. Hawley introduced the Protecting Our Farmers from the Green New Deal Act meant to:

Prohibit FERC from issuing electrical siting permits where State regulators already have jurisdiction to authorize these projects.
Require FERC to find that any proposed electrical transmission projects it approves minimizes adverse effects on landowners and farmers, adequately compensates them for any loss, and provides benefits to consumers in the State.
Prohibit FERC from reviewing any electrical siting applications where a State regulator has previously denied an application.

Now Kansas Senator Jerry Moran has jumped on the train to stop NIETCs. Senator Moran says:

Kansas landowners know that these decisions should not be left up to bureaucrats in Washington. When I return to Washington, D.C., I will be introducing legislation that will help protect Kansans private property from being seized by the federal government to build this transmission corridor.

This legislation will:

1. Ban federal funds from being used to condemn private property to be used in a NIETC designation corridor, and

2. Prohibit FERC from using its authority to overrule a state regulator’s rejection of an electric transmission project.

While I applaud what you are doing... can we get it together here, guys?

Although DOE tried really, really, really hard to keep its proposed NIETCs under wraps earlier this year, word is slowly leaking out and America is horrified! NIETCs proposed would take 103 MILLION acres from landowners across the country and place it into designated transmission corridors, without any compensation at all to the landowners. That's millions of landowners nationwide that would have their private property made available to the whims of greedy transmission developers. Is it any wonder that they are outraged by this plan? We've only just scratched the surface of people finding out that the federal government is coming to take their biggest investment and make it worthless. Opposition to this plan is going to be off the charts when public engagement and notification begins later this year. And because the ones who have found out are quickly getting their elected officials involved, it's going to spread. Elected officials who refuse to help their constituents are on the chopping block. (Eh, Joe, you were halfway out the door already, good riddance to bad rubbish!)

NIETCs are not Constitutional. That hasn't been tested yet, has it? It will be.

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I Know You Are, But What Am I?

8/17/2024

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There goes Grain Belt Express again, speaking with forked tongue. GBE generated news calls the appellate reversal of its Illinois permit "political."

Sean Stott, with the Labourer's International Union, said: "The court's decision here is clearly a political, not a legal one. If upheld, this ruling will slow down needed infrastructure investment while inviting frivolous litigation for all sorts of future vital infrastructure projects critical to our economy and clean energy goals. We hope the court will stand up for the thousands of labour jobs created by this project."

As if Invenergy's special purpose legislation wasn't a political move?

That law was approved by the General Assembly in 2021 as part of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a broad legislative package that was meant to decrease the state’s reliance on fossil fuels and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation by 2045.
CEJA does not name Grain Belt but says a project of its magnitude “shall be deemed” a public use line, giving the company the ability to invoke eminent domain if needed – a policy opposed by many farmers and large landowners.
The law includes voltage and capacity parameters and requires any “qualifying direct current project” to pass through nine counties along the proposed route of the Grain Belt Express project. Those counties are Pike, Scott, Greene, Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian, Shelby, Cumberland and Clark.
The Farm Bureau contends that the provision at issue in the case was added as unconstitutional “special legislation” meant to provide a way to benefit the Grain Belt project specifically.

Grain Belt Express says that the Court's decision "misinterprets the law".

Proponents of the Grain Belt Express point to this reading of CEJA as a threat to other renewable energy projects.

“Today’s ruling completely misinterprets law and threatens billions in energy cost savings for Grain Belt Express consumers,” Invenergy Director of Public Affairs Dia Kuykendall said Friday. “The erroneous ruling has far-reaching implications beyond Grain Belt Express and contradicts the State's efforts to secure a reliable and affordable clean energy future.”

Sorry, Invenergy, but I'm pretty sure the requirement that an applicant prove that it is capable of financing the project was already in the law long before Invenergy's special purpose legislation in CEJA. Looks like CEJA didn't do Invenergy any good after all.

Grain Belt Express did not prove that it was capable of financing the project, only that it had "a plan." Same as I have a plan to become a movie star next week. Adding "conditions" to prove a requirement at a later date is not following the law. It is a "misinterpretation" of the existing law.

Grain Belt says it will "immediately appeal" the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court. However....

In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, the Illinois Supreme Court only accepted about 7 percent of petitions to appeal filed.

Hear that? The Illinois Supreme Court only hears 7% of the appeals that are filed. How is Invenergy going to be sure that it is part of that 7%?

Political influence.

I know you are, but what am I?

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Kafka, Flounder, And A Rip In Time

8/15/2024

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It's story time! One of the most entertaining things I've read in a while is this analysis of the Appellate Court's decision to reverse the Grain Belt Express permit written by attorney Paul Neilan. Legal work doesn't have to be boring!

First, I believe it’s significant that the basis for the court’s decision was the issue of whether GBX was capable of financing the project, as opposed to the legal or constitutional issues that were raised. That’s the “no substantial evidence” test that’s set forth in Article X of the PUA as one of the grounds for reversing an ICC order. The 5th District discusses this test in par. 26 as the requirement for “more than a scintilla” of evidence, but less than a preponderance of the evidence. In most cases (and I’m looking at ComEd here), the Illinois appellate courts have interpreted this test to mean that the utility can throw spaghetti and ketchup at the wall, and if it looks like some of it stuck, then that is “substantial evidence,” no matter how big a mess it is. The court decided that none of GBX’s ketchup/spaghetti stuck to the wall.

It’s also interesting to read the court’s discussion, and characterization, of the ICC’s revised financing condition in par. 36. The court is really sending a message to the ICC about how it does business. But first, a parable from Franz Kafka:

There was once a sacred temple, and each year the high priests of the temple would drink vast quantities of sacrificial wine from large casks to celebrate their holy rites. Then one year leopards broke into the temple and drank the sacrificial vessels dry. This happened the following year also, and in fact every year thereafter. The high priests began to mark their celestial calendars and they were able to calculate the date of the leopards’ arrival long in advance. The arrival of the leopards then became part of their ceremony.

In our case, the ALJs are the high priests, and the leopards are the ever-expanding number of conditions subsequent that a utility cannot meet at the time of its application. The ICC then just incorporates the leopards into its orders, gives the utility a “pass” and grants the certification anyway, and then tells it to come back when it’s satisfied the condition, or if it needs more time. The courts let the ICC get away with this time after time.

The 5th District has now put the kibosh on this, as their discussion of the revised financing condition shows. The court states that in adopting the RFC, the Commission "all but concedes its own error."

That is, IMHO, a major change in direction. It’s a correct change. I’m almost tempted to have the court’s words engraved on a plaque.

Another significant feature of the order is that the Commission's order was reversed, not reversed and remanded with instructions to take further evidence on the issue of GBX’s capability of financing the project. In that ordering paragraph I see the Fifth District sending a message to Pritzker and the General Assembly that they should stop prostituting themselves for every venture capital firm that donates big bucks to their reelection campaigns, or in Pritzker’s case, is a regular in their Sunday morning foursome at the country club.

Paragraph 32 makes a point similar to the above, and if I were the Tsar I’d label this the “Flounder Doctrine.” I draw this name from the 1978 movie Animal House, in which one of the characters, Flounder, was foolish enough to lend his parents’ car to John Belushi and some of his senior frat brothers for a road trip. When the car is returned as a near-wreck, Belushi or one of the other frat brothers tells him, “You f#&ked up. You trusted us.” Here, the 5th District says that “...GBX asked the Commission to simply take its word, and trust that it had the funding and financial stability it alleges.” I was struck by the similarity to the line from Animal House about Flounder mistakenly trusting his frat bros.

Another interesting bit is the court’s treatment of GBX's arguments that the economic concerns of the landowners, such as clouds on title, are purely speculative, while GBX's project financing model was not speculative. The Commission has worked long and hard to cement its reputation as the Pantheon of Double Standards, and its treatment of ordinary (non-utility) parties verges on pathological colonialism masquerading as normality. So it’s gratifying to see the issues raised by non-utility parties taken seriously for once.

Likewise on the idea of necessity. In paragraph 30, the court's refers to the Rock Island project, which it noted was abandoned despite GBX's effort to convince the courts a few years ago that without it Western Civilization would end, or a rupture appear in the space-time continuum.

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How PJM and FERC Caused Huge Spikes in Regional Power Bills and New Transmission

8/9/2024

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PJM's recent capacity auction resulted in huge price spikes in the cost of supplying power to electric customers in the PJM region for the 2025-2026 year. It was directly caused by the actions of PJM and FERC. These entities aren't protecting ratepayers, they are harming them! Let me explain...

PJM holds annual capacity auctions to secure the provision of electricity three years in advance. A capacity auction is not actual electricity, it is a promise from a generator to supply a certain amount of energy at a future point in time. This is how PJM ensures that it will have enough electricity supply available three years from the auction. PJM is paying these generators to be available to produce energy when needed during the auction year. PJM starts by announcing a certain amount of electricity is needed for the auction year. Generators submit bids of how much it will cost to be standing by to produce that electricity during the auction year. PJM stacks the bids by price, and each bid is represented by an amount of electricity and a price. PJM then looks at its bid stack and finds the place where the capacity need is met. Whatever the price of that bid is the clearing price for all the capacity bids lower in the stack. Those bids that go over the capacity price are not accepted. At the end of the auction, PJM has a stable of committed generators sure to provide the power when needed 3 years from the auction date.

PJM does not order generation. Generation is a market construct, where generators build when the capacity prices are profitable. If the clearing price at auction is high, it would entice the development of new generation. If the clearing price is low, many generators may not have enough revenue to continue to operate at a profit. This is how PJM manages generation to make sure there is always enough, but not too much. The auction serves as an important warning bell... when clearing prices are high, it means more generation needs to be built. The auction sends a signal to generators to build more when the prices are high. More generators lowers prices because there is more competition in the supply. But what happens when the prices are high at the auction and no new generators get built? That's exactly what just happened... there is a dearth of needed generation in PJM so prices shot through the roof to record highs.

The problem here began with PJM making a proposal to change the parameters of its auction. In order to do so, it needed FERC's permission. A battle broke out at FERC, with many other parties objecting to the auction changes. FERC moves at a snail's pace and can take years to make a decision on a request. The more parties to a case, the longer it takes to resolve it.

Because of the battle going on at FERC, the auctions got put on hold. As Power magazine says,

BRA auctions are usually held three years in advance of the delivery year. While the 2025/2026 auction was originally scheduled to be held in May 2022, it was suspended while the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considered the approval of new capacity market rules. The recent July 2024 auction stems from a compressed schedule that aims to return to the three-year forward basis. According to PJM, the next BRA—for the 2026/2027 delivery year—is scheduled for December 2024.

FERC suspended PJM's capacity auctions while it resolved the issue. That's like turning off the warning system. PJM's annual capacity auction couldn't send the market signal to build new generation because it wasn't being held.

During this time, an extreme change in the power needs of the PJM region was underway. Many baseload fossil fuel generators closed, either the result of the last auction's low capacity prices, or because they were "dirty" and no longer socially acceptable. The new generation that entered the market could not keep up with the amount of generation that was closing. As a result, we had less generation available. Also during this time, the building of new data centers and increasing power demands for AI shot through the roof. No new generation to supply power for these data centers was proposed or built because PJM's auction warning bell was not sounding due to the auctions being suspended.

PJM used the only tool it had available to meet regional need... transmission. PJM conducted a competitive transmission window to connect the remaining generators with the new data center load. Unfortunately, the majority of the available generators are located in WV and PA, and the data center load is in Northern Virginia. PJM asked for new transmission to connect the two, and it ended up with a whole bunch of new projects, including MARL and MPRP. PJM says they are "needed" to supply power to the data centers because no new generation has been built anywhere near the data centers.

Now that FERC has finally resolved the issue and PJM has its new market parameters, PJM recently began holding auctions again. The first new auction for the 2025-2026 year was held just 10 months before the auction year begins, instead of 3 years in advance. There's no way new generators can be built in 10 months, even if the prices are generous enough to support them economically. That's why the auction is always held 3 years in advance, in order to give time for new generation to be built to reduce auction prices.

Instead, we're looking at a transmission bandaid to keep the existing generation flowing to the places that need it. And PJM has opened another transmission planning window to add another 4,500MW of generation imports to Northern Virginia because there is no generation currently proposed to fill that need.

Eventually, if PJM's market signal works as intended, new generation will be built near the load. However, certain states like Virginia and Maryland have passed laws that prevent the building of new fossil fuel generation. That leaves only the nuclear option to supply the outrageous amount of power needed by the data centers. Can you imagine how long it would take to build a new nuclear plant in Northern Virginia? It would be completed on the 12th of Never. Meanwhile, transmission is the only viable option.

PJM's market system didn't work to get generation built in time to meet new need because PJM and FERC had turned it off and were asleep at the switch. Now we have a disaster of epic proportions on our hands.

What's going to happen first? The construction of hotly opposed transmission projects, or the building of new generation? And where will that generation be built? Continuing to build in PA and WV only perpetuates the transmission problem. We need new generation at load. It's probably cheaper than billions of dollars of new transmission, but it takes a willingness to sacrifice for its own benefit on the part of the data center loving states.

New generation is coming to market... and how much of it will obviate the need for new transmission? That's an unknown at this point, but it's going to happen. PJM's transmission project needs will change and fall apart. Let's hold the line, folks! This battle is far from over!

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Where's the Customers, Invenergy? (Appellate Court Version)

8/8/2024

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I've been asking this question since way back in the Clean Line days... where's the customers? Now the Fifth District Appellate Court of Illinois has the same question! Without actual customers and financing, Grain Belt Express has nothing but a PLAN. You can't prove that you are capable of financing the project with only a plan. You need evidence!

Unfortunately, the record demonstrates that GBX failed to provide any evidence to meet the burden required by section 8-406.1(f)(3). To satisfy section 8-406.1(f)(3), the applicant must show that it is capable of financing the construction of the proposed project. Therefore, GBX must prove that it has the capacity to finance the project prior to the Commission granting any CPCN. Stated differently, the applicant’s capability of financing the project is a condition precedent to the Commission’s issuance of a CPCN.

While appearing before the Commission, GBX did not claim that it had the capability of funding the project. Instead, GBX claimed that it expects to be able to obtain financing for the project once customer contracts are executed, supply agreements are executed, and site control is obtained in the future. But in addition to this, it also plans on heavily relying upon debt financing. It calls this method of speculative financing, the “project financing approach.” GBX stated that it anticipates financing approximately 65% to 80% of the project through debt, with the debt being funded largely through the Department of Energy grants or commercial banks. However, at the time of the Commission’s decision, GBX had no customers for the project, no commitments from any financial institution, and had not been awarded any funding or debt commitments from the Department of Energy to provide financing for the project. What is even more concerning is that the wind farm and renewable projects in Kansas, for which this transmission line is supposedly necessary in order to distribute the “clean energy” these projects will produce and deliver to Illinois, do not exist. Quite simply, the projects had not been constructed at the time of the Commission’s Final Order, and no evidence was put forth indicating that any commitments, contracts, or construction bids had been obtained or negotiated.

Key word: speculative. GBE is simply a speculative project seeking a permit before it can prove that it meets all the requirements of the law. This is an issue that has bugged me for a long, long time. Merchant transmission projects are SPECULATIVE, but yet they seek to acquire permits and use eminent domain long before they actually have any customers or financial commitments. Having a plan to acquire same is not proof. Take note, merchant transmission developers... no more speculative projects in Illinois! You need to have a complete project before asking for permission to build and take land from private citizens. Bravo to the Court for finally solving this issue for landowners!

And why shouldn't speculative projects be approved? Because they can go on to fail, after they have caused landowners time, money and worry. Simply having a "plan" to return the land to the landowner in the event of failure is not a cure. It does not make the landowner whole. Landowners deserve to be protected from speculative ventures seeking eminent domain.

We note that the sister project in Northern Illinois which was overseen by Rock Island has allegedly been abandoned despite the contentions of GBX before the Commission of the necessity and market demand for such a project. Thus, GBX has not offered any evidence that it “is capable” of funding the project; it instead has only offered evidence of a future, and highly speculative, plan of possibly funding the project. It simply asked the Commission to broadly speculate, and to trust that many unknown variables will fall into place. It does not contend, “let us build it and they will come,” but instead, “give us approval, then we will finance it, and then we will build it.” This falls short of proving the financing capability required.

I can do you one better... the Plains and Eastern Clean Line also failed AFTER full permitting and an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to "participate" in this project under Sec. 1222 of the Energy Policy Act. Plains and Eastern also had a "plan" that tanked because it couldn't find any customers.

Ultimately, there was no showing that GBX as it was situated at the time of the Commission’s hearing and decisions was financially able to finance and construct the project. In fact, GBX acknowledged before the Commission that it had no customers for the project, had secured no bank commitments, no Department of Energy commitments, etc. It asked the Commission to speculate as to its future capability, and the Commission improperly obliged.

Therefore, the Final Order entered by the Commission finding otherwise was made in error and requires reversal.

For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the Commission’s March 8, 2023, order granting GBX a CPCN pursuant to section 8-406(b-5) and other related provisions.

Permit wack-a-mole strikes again! Now GBE doesn't have a permit in Illinois.

GBE has several options here:

1. Appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court and hope they take the case.
2. Get customers and financing commitments, along with contracts for the wind farms in Kansas. This option is going to take years. GBE has applied for a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) that would allow it to take the Illinois denial to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and go through the whole permitting process again. Getting a NIETC designation is going to take at least another 3 years. Who knows how long the wind farms in Kansas are going to take? They probably come under the category of "customers." GBE would also have to have its loan of taxpayer money approved by the DOE, but why should DOE approve a loan for such a speculative project that doesn't have any customers to create a revenue stream?

Speculative. Word of the day!

Bravo, Illinois! Celebrate this victory!

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DOE Uses Your Money to Bribe Transmission Advocates

7/25/2024

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The U.S. Department of Energy announced yesterday that it is handing out a stunning $371M of your tax dollars to purchase advocates for proposed transmission projects. However, DOE's spending spree will only be disbursed when the transmission project begins construction. That's a long time from now...

I have written about this absurd use of your tax dollars to purchase advocacy for transmission projects here, here and here.

If a transmission project is needed, then regulators will approve it. Should regulators approve an unneeded transmission project simply because someone not impacted by it gets a freebie? This turns transmission permitting and siting into some sort of advocacy battle. Who has more people in their army, and what motivates them? On one side are impacted landowners, who have to live with the transmission project in perpetuity. These are the ONLY people who are impacted by new transmission, which can lower their income by taking land out of use, harm their property values, pose a dangerous hazard on their own land, and a daily eyesore forever. On the other side are a bunch of people who will not have to look at transmission and will not have to suffer any impacts whatsoever. These people are motivated by pure GREED. They are being offered something in exchange for the suffering of other people. The landowners must be compensated for something that was taken for them, but those greedy people don't deserve a damned thing. They are disgusting people who want to profit off the misery of others.

Advocacy battles like this have been taking place for decades. Utilities always buy advocacy to try to shout down transmission opposition. The DC Court of Appeals recognized such transmission advocacy efforts by describing the actions of one such project, PATH:

From 2009 through 2011, PATH spent more than $6 million on various activities to support its applications for Certificates. Through hired public relations contractors, PATH organized "reliable power coalitions" that would recruit individuals—often prominent business and labor leaders—to testify before the state utility commissions in support of PATH's certificate applications. PATH's contractors also polled public opinion of the project, ran promotional advertisements, and sent lobbyists to persuade state officials that the Certificates should be granted.
There is little question that PATH made these disputed expenditures to influence the decisions of public officials. The record is full of statements to that effect. The internal communications of PATH's public relations contractors, for example, declared that "[w]e have but one singular goal—to help get PATH approved," a goal that would be achieved by "generating the political cover that commissioners/legislators need to ‘do the right thing.’ " J.A. 66; see also J.A. 142-44 (contractor agreement with public relations firm). And the advertisements PATH's agents ran were persuasive rather than merely informational, focusing on arguments in support of approval and construction of PATH's proposed transmission line. See, e.g. , J.A. 115, 117-18, 121.
Newman v. Fed. Energy Regulatory Comm'n, 27 F.4th 690, 693-94 (D.C. Cir. 2021)

And now, the federal government, under the auspices of "reducing inflation", is providing the proverbial carrot for greedy people by promising them some free money if they can successfully advocate for a transmission project that doesn't affect them. They only get their carrot if they can outshout the impacted landowners and other opponents and convince the regulators to approve the transmission project based on advocacy alone. I have never been so thoroughly disgusted by my own government, and believe me, I have seen A LOT of bullshit coming out of DC over the past sixteen years. This is the epitome of government graft.

So, let's look at who bellied up to the bar to get some free money in exchange for transmission advocacy.

There were two different kinds of awards made under this program. The first is grants to an entity with regulatory authority to approve a new transmission line. That's right DOE is even bribing the regulators who make these decisions!

The Illinois Commerce Commission got $8.2M to speed up its approval of MISO's Tranche 1 projects.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin got $3M for doing the same, plus it will "increase its outreach and engagement with the public, improve its coordination with other siting entities, and develop plain language educational materials on high-voltage transmission lines."

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission got $4.5M to "accelerate its siting decision-making process on certain PJM Regional Transmission Expansion Plan Projects traversing the state by expanding its public and community engagement, participating in more site visits and public input hearings, and providing education and training opportunities to its staff." Which "certain" projects are those? Maybe someone wants to ask them?

And Alamosa Co. Colorado got $1.7M to study three different routes for a transmission project and pick one.

And now let's look at a couple of the "economic development" awards for communities "along major new and upgraded transmission lines." What the hell does that mean, and how close does a community have to be, exactly? DOE never would say. As the awards show, these projects are not actually for impacted individuals, but their greedy neighbors who are not impacted at all.

First, there's a couple of merchant transmission projects owned by Michael Skelly's GridUnited that were showered with multiple grants.

Southline Transmission project:
$1.8M to Lordsburg, NM to revitalize their town. I'm going to bet the revitalization isn't going to include a gigantic transmission line in the middle of Main Street. Instead, the transmission line will impact some landowners outside the town.
The City of Willcox, AZ got $10M to create a new conservation area. I'm going to bet that the conservation area won't have a gigantic transmission line running through it. Instead, the transmission line will impact some landowners elsewhere.

North Plains Connector Transmission project:
City of Mott, ND got $14.2M for a community center. I'm betting the transmission project is nowhere near the community center.
The Montana Department of Commerce got $47.4M to distribute to the counties of Rosebud, Fallon and Custer and the Northern Cheyenne tribe for "funding critical community infrastructure, including emergency and medical services, transportation, water, and sewage services, and climate mitigation projects." Here, North Dakota, have a handful of colorful beads while we rape and pillage your state.
The Roosevelt Custer Community Council got $700K for a new Fire Hall in Amidon.

It used to be that the transmission company had to pay these bribes out of their own funds, especially merchant transmission companies that don't have guaranteed cost recovery from ratepayers. Merchant transmission is not found needed or planned by regional grid planners. Merchant transmission is a speculative proposition based purely on profits. The merchant bets its own capital that if it can build a transmission line between point A and point B that it can attract enough voluntary customers to pay for the line and provide a profit. Why in the world are taxpayers paying bribes to buy advocacy for transmission developers who are supposed to be paying for their own projects? It boggles the mind!

But DOE wasn't done supporting the merchants with GridUnited... there's also a couple of grants to Guymon, OK totaling $167.5M to build a new school and a water project. Only one of these projects seems to be tied to transmission at all. The other one seems to be an unrelated gift to the City of Guymon. Spending Other People's Money is such a generous activity!

Barnstable, Massachusetts, is getting a new school in exchange for a landing zone for offshore wind transmission. I'm going to guess the school will be nowhere near the transmission line.

Michigan is getting $35M to "...invest in workforce development initiatives to build a skilled workforce to support transmission construction and clean energy investments in the two counites affected by the Helix-Hiple transmission line, one of the MISO Long Range Transmission Planning Tranche 1 projects. LEO will provide specialized education and training through electric utility apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs, as well as training for EV infrastructure construction and installation. LEO will also invest in a low-income energy fund to support a residential weatherization program, as well as provide utility stipends to residents in disadvantaged communities (DACs) impacted by the siting of a new transmission line." This is garbage. It doesn't actually help landowners impacted by the transmission line.

There's more... LOT$ more... read it and weep (while clutching your wallet and your private property rights.)

So, just like I thought in the beginning, no communities that are actually impacted by new transmission are benefiting from these grants in any way. Communities impacted by new transmission are linear, just like the transmission itself. They do not coincide with traditional cluster communities.

Absolutely NO LANDOWNER EVER said that they would gladly give up their own property for new transmission if a nearby town could only have a new school, a new fire hall, a Main Street makeover, or a park, or any of this other ridiculous nonsense DOE found grant worthy. Landowners will NOT give up their fight in the face of federal government bribes.

DOE simply gave the money to anyone who applied, not to impacted communities.

How does this "reduce inflation" again?

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Transource Says It Will Refile IEC Project With Pa PUC

7/16/2024

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Everyone was blindsided by the announcement last week that Franklin County, Pennsylvania, has inked a deal with Transource to drop its opposition to the Independence Energy Connection (IEC). This project was originally proposed in 2016 as a "market efficiency" project planned by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection to create a new pathway for cheap power generated in Pennsylvania to reach electric consumers in the DC-Baltimore area. The Maryland PSC approved the project in 2020 contingent upon a reconfiguration that assigned the eastern part of the project to local utilities to add to an open position on existing transmission structures. However, the Pennsylvania PUC denied Transource's application altogether in 2021. Transource has pursued appeal of the PUC's decision through the court system, first in the Pennsylvania courts, then in federal district court. The PUC then appealed the federal district court's decision, and the case is currently before the federal Third Circuit. Briefing has not yet completed, and oral argument has not yet been scheduled. This case has not been resolved one way or the other.

PJM initially "suspended" IEC in the wake of the PUC denial, putting the project on a shelf for further re-evaluation. Recently, PJM stated during its Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee (TEAC) that IEC "causes uncontrolled congestion and reliability issues." That means that the project, if built, would raise prices all over the region, which is the exact opposite of what PJM testified to during the state utility commission hearings. Last week, PJM stated that it would be making an announcement regarding the fate of the IEC at its September TEAC meeting. That meeting is open to the public, if you would like to attend and make comment.

Despite what looks like certain doom at PJM, along with a court case that has not been resolved in its favor, Transource has been busy! It announced an agreement with Franklin County to drop its opposition. The agreement was a mystery until now. It comes in the form of a partial settlement between Transource and Franklin County in the PUC case (which ended with a denial in 2021). You can read it here:

transource-franklin_co.
File Size:	202 kb
File Type:	transource-franklin co.

Download File

Why is Franklin County agreeing to drop its opposition to a PUC case that is over?

Transource PA intends to refile the IEC Project with the Commission.

Seems like Transource is trying to reconfigure this project as a reliability project. However, it is going to need PJM's approval or it won't be able to recover its costs from ratepayers. Is Transource going merchant with IEC, or is PJM going to come out in September and negate what it recently said about IEC causing uncontrolled congestion and reliability issues?

So, what does Franklin County get from this deal?

Transource PA will pay Franklin County a one-time payment of $5,000,000.00 (Five Million Dollars and No Cents) to off-set potential environmental impacts, if any, of the IEC West Project in Franklin County caused by the actions of Transource PA or its contractors. The funds may be used at Franklin County's discretion. In addition to the conditions set forth herein, this payment is conditioned upon Transource PA receiving all necessary, independent third-party permits, recommendations, or approvals otherwise required by law from the Franklin County Planning Department, Southampton Township, Greene Township, Guilford Township, Quincy Township, and Washington Township related to the IEC Project, including, if necessary, an NPDES permit, substation notification and compliance letters and driveway permits.
Transource PA shall notify Franklin County within fifteen (15) days after the line is energized and shall remit the payment required in this paragraph to Franklin County within thirty (30) days after the line is energized and placed in service.

In exchange for $5M, Franklin Co. agrees to take on all liability for environmental impacts caused by Transource or its contractors. That seems rather risky to me. What environmental impacts could Transource cause while building IEC, and how much could those cost to remediate? This is more like an insurance policy without any limit on how much Franklin Co. may have to pay out.

In addition

As part of this Settlement, Transource PA also agrees to provide an allowance of up to $4,000,000.00 (Four Million Dollars and No Cents) associated with micro-siting within the
1,000-foot corridor granted by the Commission upon approval of the IEC Project. This allowance will be used by Transource to accommodate siting needs that may be identified prior to construction.

What? Transource will allocate up to $4M of ratepayer money to micro-siting? How much does micro-siting cost? The paragraph reads like this extra $4M is an internal budgeting issue. This allowance will be used by Transource, it's not being paid to Franklin County. It is completely unclear how money can solve micro-siting issues. Micro-siting refers to making slight adjustments to the project's alignment to go around certain impediments. It can require different transmission structures, or slightly longer spans. $4M is a very small amount of money when it comes to building transmission lines. Who gets first dibs on having their micro-siting issues settled before Transource runs out of money? Will Transource pick and choose which landowners benefit?

An what about eminent domain?

Franklin County agrees not to oppose any of the eminent domain applications related to the IEC West Portion of the IEC Project associated with PJM Project 9A that are currently pending before the Commission. Franklin County further agrees not to oppose any eminent domain applications as may be necessary for the reconfigured East Portion of the IEC Project.

So Franklin County won't oppose any eminent domain. Not sure they really have a say in it, unless it is land owned by the County.

And what about land, or conservation easements, owned by the County?

Transource will not be required to obtain from Franklin County any additional land rights associated with County property interests (e.g., including situations in which the County has rights associated with an agricultural easement) as Transource may identify.

Franklin County has agreed not to interfere with any land rights Transource wants, including the right to cross conservation easements that the county may have purchased from landowners with county taxpayer funds in the past. If you put your land in an easement thinking that it was protected, Franklin County has agreed that it is not protected from Transource.

It also contains the condition that other utilities also receive their land rights, including on the eastern portion of the project in York County. If that doesn't happen, Franklin County gets zilch.

This Joint Partial Settlement is also conditioned upon Transource PA, Mid-
Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC ("MAlT") (or an affiliate), and PPL Electric Utilities
Corporation receiving all necessary land rights in York and Franklin counties in order to
construct the IEC Project, as reconfigured.

It's also contingent upon approval for a new filing in Pennsylvania, and an amendment to its approval in Maryland.

This Joint Partial Settlement is further conditioned upon approval of the IEC Project, as amended in Pennsylvania and Maryland. If either the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission or Maryland Public Service Commission deny the IEC Project, as amended, either Transource PA or Franklin County may elect to withdraw from this settlement and may proceed with litigation, including litigation of their original positions.

And Franklin County agrees not to oppose any of those fillings, as well as any other filing Transource may make.

Transource PA will be able to represent in its filings before the PA Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and any other regulatory agency or court that it has reached settlement with Franklin County and Franklin County withdraws its opposition to the IEC Project and no longer opposes it.

Transource now owns Franklin County in any future filings.

Why, Franklin County, why? Seems like this is not going unnoticed by the voters of Franklin County, tossed under the bus. The elected officials who thought this was a good idea did so at their own risk.

And why would the PA PUC approve this settlement? Settlements need to be approved or they are not valid.

Get out your battle gear, folks! Here we go again! It seems transmission never truly goes away, it just crawls behind the baseboard for a while to take a nap.

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PJM Opens New Transmission Window To Serve Data Centers

7/15/2024

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Here we go again!

As if all the new transmission that came out of PJM's 2022 Window 3 isn't enough already, guess what? PJM miscalculated.

That's right... the data center load in Northern Virginia is much bigger than PJM thought when it planned and selected a bunch of new transmission projects last year.

Here's PJM's latest plan.

PJM shared at its TEAC meeting last week that it was going to open a new window for transmission to import an additional 4,500MW of generation to "data center alley." This time, the generation is supposed to come from wind, solar, and storage in Illinois. Illinois, people! Numerous new transmission lines from the Midwest to Loudoun County, Virginia. That's 700 miles of new transmission!

How is it supposed to get there? PJM burned up all its existing transmission corridors last time by using up the Doubs-Goose Creek corridor to save the Sacred Cows. There won't be any new transmission going through Doubs this time around. There also won't be any new transmission coming from the east. Seems Pennsylvania is tapped out for exports this time around.

PJM claims:

Most of the additional generation required to meet load growth 2028 vs 2029 is sourced from PJM West.

That's going to look like this:

PJM is targeting new project approvals for this window at the end of this year so that transmission owners can get started failing at building them next year.

Sometimes, I get up in the morning and wonder if PJM is just punking us all by pretending that all this new transmission can actually get built. When project after project fails, the data centers causing this problem are going to leave for more powerful pastures elsewhere, and then PJM can shrug and say, "Well, we tried!"

It's time to start participating in TEAC meetings again. I'm sure they've missed all of us these past couple months... see ya there!

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Forward>>

How They Steal Your Power

Loudoun Pushes Data Center Burden Onto Neighboring States

Another Senator Vows To Stop NIETCs

I Know You Are, But What Am I?

Kafka, Flounder, And A Rip In Time

How PJM and FERC Caused Huge Spikes in Regional Power Bills and New Transmission

Where's the Customers, Invenergy? (Appellate Court Version)

DOE Uses Your Money to Bribe Transmission Advocates

Transource Says It Will Refile IEC Project With Pa PUC

PJM Opens New Transmission Window To Serve Data Centers

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