The Western Transmission Expansion Coalition’s 10-year outlook has spurred talks about increased coordination between jurisdictions to upgrade or build 12,600 miles of transmission in the West and fueled calls for states to create a task force to streamline permitting and other issues.

The Washington Senate passed a bill to establish a transmission authority intended to help the state improve system capacity and meet growing demand by reducing the timeline to complete new transmission projects.

NERC CEO Jim Robb said in congressional testimony that while the bulk power system made it through the late January winter storm reliably, the weather highlighted how at risk it is.

The PJM Planning Committee endorsed a quick-fix proposal to include battery storage dispatch in the RTO’s planning models.

PJM updated stakeholders on how it plans to act on a FERC order requiring it to rework how it determines transmission rates and recalculate rates going back to June 2015.

FERC conditionally approved SPP’s streamlined generator interconnection and long-term planning processes in what commissioners said is a “bold step” in addressing the needs of the electric system.

The Texas Public Utility Commission filed a proposed rule change that would establish interconnection standards for large load customers and support business development while maintaining system reliability.

The Virginia General Assembly wrapped up its session and Democrats used the power they won in November's elections to push through bills favoring clean energy as the state faces significant load growth from data centers.

The Bonneville Power Administration’s planned departure from the Western Energy Imbalance Market has prompted questions about how the agency will handle the yearlong period before it joins SPP’s Markets+.

Gaming by different stakeholders can present regulators with biased forecasts, which would require special regulatory-staff expertise to uncover, warns energy consultant Kenneth W. Costello.