Between the Poles: House subcommittee to review FERC transmission planning and cost allocation Order 1000

Geoff Zeiss

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Sharing information about the location of underground utilities
The U.S. devotes an estimated $10 billion annually to locating underground infrastructure. Every construction project requiring excavation involves significant efforts in locating underground utilities prior to and during construction to reduce the risk of injuries and unexpected project delays. But this information is rarely shared and the location of underground infrastructure is recaptured over and over again. There are successful examples around the world where municipal and regional governments have helped enable a shared underground utility network database.
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Building information modeling (BIM) has been applied to design-build construction projects for many years. A growing number of countries are mandating BIM for public projects. While the UK government has said that "...we know that the largest prize for BIM lies in the operational stages of the project life-cycle", until recently there has not been hard data to support this conjecture. Similarly there has been only anecdotal support for an integrated BIM and geospatial approach for design, build, operate and maintain projects. Now we are beginning to see data from real world projects that offer evidence for the benefits of an integrated BIM+geospatial full lifecycle approach for construction projects.
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The BIM and geospatial interoperability challenge is the latest symptom of the broader problem of integrating AEC and geospatial workflows, that has contributed to low productivity in the construction sector. After the announcement about a year ago by Jack Dangermond and Andrew Anagnost of a new relationship to build a bridge between Autodesk and ESRI technologies, I thought it a good time to review progress toward interoperability between the AEC and geospatial worlds.
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I thought it would be worth while to include here a talk I gave at GEOGRAPHY 2050 Powering Our Future Planet at Columbia University in New York about the importance of accurate location information about underground infrastructure for the future development of the energy grid. With some notable exceptions accurately recording the location of subsurface infrastructure including oil, gas, electric power and other energy infrastructure is ignored - perhaps this is a case of out-of-sight is indeed out-of-mind. The reality is that knowing the location of underground energy infrastructure is critical for national security, for disaster planning and management, for public safety and for economic efficiency. Everyone is aware of at least one disaster resulting from or exacerbated by not knowing where our energy infrastructure is - the explosions in San Bruno in California (2010) and Belgium (2004) immediately come to mind.
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BIM + geospatial interoperability would avoid another CAD + GIS quagmire
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October 12, 2011

House subcommittee to review FERC transmission planning and cost allocation Order 1000

FERC Chairman John Wellinghoff and Department of Energy (DoE) Senior Advisor Lauren Azarwill appear before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power to review FERC's planning and cost allocation Order 1000 at a hearing on Oct. 13. Many consider Order 1000 as essential in moving toward a national transmission grid. It has been estimated that 50,000 miles of new transmission are required in the US. Currently it takes 12 - 20 years to gain regulatory approval and build a new transmission line in the US. The Obama administration has just announced an attempt to streamline the Federal regulatory review process.

DoE had said it intended to delegate to FERC its authority to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. But instead, apparently under pressure from state regulators, DOE said that it will work more closely with FERC in reviewing transmission projects. FERC had said that if it had gotten DoE's authorization it would focus on proposed projects that could potentially be part of the regional planning processes under Order 1000.

The issues that will be addressed at the hearing are fundamental to development of a national transmission grid in the US, driven by bringing renewable energy to major markets:

The need for new electricity transmission infrastructure and the barriers and challenges to siting and constructing new transmission facilities.
The statutory authority of DOE and FERC with respect to the siting, planning, and pricing of electricity transmission infrastructure.
The roles and responsibilities of the following entities with respect to the siting, planning, and pricing of electricity transmission infrastructure: DOE, FERC, State Public Utility Commissions, Regional Transmission Organizations, and electric utilities.

Between the Poles

Geoff Zeiss

July 2023

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October 12, 2011

House subcommittee to review FERC transmission planning and cost allocation Order 1000

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