Electric Transmission Line Siting Compact

The need to more efficiently site transmission lines has consistently been identified in western states as one of the most pressing policy challenges facing the region.  One possible solution state legislators are just beginning to consider is a transmission line siting compact.  The compact, which was developed by a drafting team of subject matter experts, with input and guidance from CSG’s National Center for Interstate Compacts will be featured during the Energy and Public Lands Committee session at this year’s CSG-WEST Annual Conference in Las Vegas. 

In a recently released report by the Western Governors Association entitled Ten Year Energy Vision: Goals and Objectives, interstate compacts were mentioned as a way to promote a more robust energy infrastructure.  WGA went on to mention compacts as a viable way to promote interstate cooperation and more effectively lead to the siting of interstate projects. 

Earlier this week the Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC) encouraged the US Department of Energy (DOE) to more actively engage in efforts to support the Electrical Transmission Line Siting Compact.  The compact, which was developed by CSG’s National Center for Interstate Compacts, is intended to improve efficiencies and create standardization during the siting process by establishing common applications, joint hearings, predetermined timelines, uniform public comment periods, and a common record for judicial review.

Interstate Compacts to Watch in 2013

Dating back to America’s colonial past, interstate compacts are among the few tools specifically granted to states by the U.S. Constitution. The modern compact provides states with a sophisticated administrative mechanism, allowing interstate collaboration to resolve complex policy challenges.

Compacts, which are governed by the tenets of contract law, give states an enforceable, sustainable and durable tool capable of ensuring permanent change without federal intervention. With more than 215 interstate compacts in existence today and each state belonging to an average of 25 compacts, the legal and historical precedence for the development and use of the tool is considerable.