Full Title: How does Electric Transmission Benefit You?
Author(s): Wires Group and London Economics International, Inc.
Publisher(s): Wires Group and London Economics International, Inc.
Publication Date: January 1, 2018
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
WIRES commissioned London Economics International LLC (“LEI”) to prepare a study
demonstrating the benefits of transmission investment. The benefits of transmission are
frequently seen as uncertain by many policymakers and regulators; system planners have also
found it a challenge to comprehensively measure benefits and identify beneficiaries. This study
shows that a variety of benefits can be quantified robustly through forward-looking, simulationbased
analysis. Moreover, these benefits are substantial, widespread, and long-lasting – putting
dollars in the pockets of households, businesses, and governments.
The modeling approach LEI uses to estimate the benefits of transmission utilizes two hypothetical
transmission investment projects. LEI presents the projected benefits of each transmission project
by category and by beneficiary, showing as well where and over what timeframe these various
benefits arise during the lifetime of a typical transmission investment. Although the hypothetical
projects analyzed in this study are created to highlight the benefits of two specific types of interregional
transmission investments in two diverse market settings, the methodology for estimating benefits and the overall magnitude of the benefits are indicative of all transmission investments – reliability projects, economically-motivated projects, and policy-driven initiatives.
Therefore, the analytical approach illustrated in this study applies not just to inter-regional
transmission projects but also to various other types of well-conceived transmission investments.