News Release RM21-17

NEWS RELEASES

FERC Takes on Long-Term Planning with
Historic Transmission Rule
May 13, 2024

Item E-1 | Presentation | Fact Sheet

FERC Order No. 1920 - Securing a Reliable Energy Future

FERC acted today to ensure the transmission grid can meet the nation’s growing demand for
reliable electricity with a new rule that outlines how to plan and pay for facilities that regions
of the country will need to keep the lights on and power the American economy through the
21st Century.
Today’s rule, Order No. 1920, marks the first time in more than a decade that FERC has
addressed regional transmission policy – and the first time the Commission has ever squarely
addressed the need for long-term transmission planning.
“Our country is facing an unprecedented surge in demand for affordable
electricity while confronting extreme weather threats to the reliability of our
grid and trying to stay one step ahead of the massive technological changes we
are seeing in our society,” FERC Chairman Willie Phillips said. “Our nation

needs a new foundation to get badly needed new transmission planned, paid
for and built. With this  new rule, that starts today.”
The grid rule adopts specific requirements for transmission providers to conduct long-term
planning for regional transmission facilities and determine how to pay for them. It reflects tens
of thousands of pages of comments, filed over the course of the past three years, from
hundreds of stakeholders representing all sectors of the electric power industry, advocacy
groups and state and other government entities. 
The rule requires transmission operators to conduct and periodically update long-term
transmission planning over a 20-year time horizon to anticipate future needs. It also provides
for cost-effective expansion of transmission that is being replaced, when needed, known as
“right-sizing” transmission facilities. And it expressly provides for the states’ pivotal role
throughout the process of planning, selecting, and determining how to pay for transmission
lines.
“We need to seize this moment,” Chairman Phillips said. “Over the last dozen years, FERC has
worked on five after-action reports on lessons learned from extreme weather events that
caused outages that cost hundreds of lives and millions of dollars. We must get beyond these
after-action reports and start planning to maintain a reliable grid that powers our entire way of
life. The grid cannot wait. Our communities cannot wait. Our nation cannot wait.”
This page was last updated on May 14, 2024