Full Title: The One-Year Anniversary of Winter Storm Uri: Lessons Learned and the Continued Need for Large-Scale Transmission
Author(s): Michael Goggin, Jesse Schneider
Publisher(s): Grid Strategies LLC
Publication Date: February 13, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
New, large-scale transmission capacity reduces the adverse impacts of extreme weather events like Winter Storm Uri, saves consumers money every day by providing them with access to lower-cost power, and enables more renewable resources to be integrated onto the grid. Despite the need for and benefits of new transmission, regionally planned transmission investment has decreased steadily over the last decade. However, the Build Back Better Act (BBB) has the potential to spur new transmission construction as it includes provisions specifically aimed at overcoming the obstacles to planning and paying for large scale transmission investment. The BBB’s transmission Investment Tax Credit (ITC) alone could spur over $37 billion in new transmission development, providing consumers with net savings of over $75 billion on their electric bills. The construction of interregional transmission capacity enabled by the passage of the Build Back Better Act would provide consumers with more reliable, more affordable, and cleaner power.