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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has created a task force on “grid-enhancing technologies” to see how the agency can support them, possibly with incentives, FERC Chairman Laura Swett said Wednesday.
Utilities have proactively started using GETs — which include dynamic line ratings, advanced power flow controllers and high-performance conductors — and their cost-saving data is now available, Swett told the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee during an oversight hearing.
The Federal Power Act bars FERC from requiring utilities to use GETs, but the agency can direct transmission owners to analyze them, which can show what the most economic option is when considering new transmission infrastructure, according to Swett.
In addition, FERC could incorporate GETs into its processes for doling out incentives to transmission owners and developers, FERC Commissioner Judy Chang said. When they seek incentives, FERC could ask them to explain what technologies they're implementing, what else they have considered and why they are not using the best technologies available, she said.
