WHEREAS, the Committee has been evaluating regional transmission issues in the West for almost ten years; and
WHEREAS, the WSCC, with the urging and support of the Committee, has been moving in the direction of increasing its data gathering, modeling and analysis capability related to the western interconnected transmission grid, and has opened its membership to all utilities and electric power generators; and
WHEREAS, within the WSCC, several groups have been actively planning for the formation of a Regional Transmission Association(s); and
WHEREAS, the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 provides authority for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to order transmission access, but does not explicitly authorize RTA's; and
WHEREAS, the Committee believes that regional solutions to regional transmission planning and access issues may be more efficient and responsive to regional needs than generic national solutions applied without regard to regional diversity.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Committee on Regional Electric Power Cooperation supports efforts to establish a western Regional Transmission Association(s) and agrees to work with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, representatives of state agencies responsible for transmission line siting, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to develop a coordinated FERC and state approach to RTAs that addresses the responsibilities and authorities of both FERC and the states.