Right of Way Ep. 3: The 3 P's w/ Daniel Palken
Recently, I joined the Right of Way podcast to talk about something that usually hides in the background of our energy debates but quietly determines whether the lights stay on: transmission.
When most people think about electricity, they imagine either the power plant that generates it or the wires that carry it into their home. But the system actually has 3 distinct parts:
- Generation: the power plants where electricity is produced
- Transmission: the high-voltage lines that move power across long distances
- Distribution: the smaller lines that branch out through neighborhoods and deliver electricity to your home or business
Transmission is the “middle child.” It is not as visible as power plants or as familiar as the poles outside your window, but without it, the whole system grinds to a halt.
Why Transmission Matters Now
We are currently living with the grid of the 20th century, even as the technologies of the 21st — advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, electrification of all sorts of appliances — are taking off. Many power lines that crisscross the country today are 50, 70, or even 100 years old. They have held up remarkably well. But as demand for electricity surges and as the mix of energy sources changes, the old grid is showing its age.
If we cannot move power from where it is made to where it is needed, we are in trouble. Even if we build the most affordable, reliable generator in the world, it is useless if the electricity cannot reach customers. Unless we relearn how to build large transmission lines, we are, to put it in technical terms, hosed.
The 3 P’s: Permitting, Planning, and Paying
On the podcast, I talked about the so-called “3 P’s,” the 3 main barriers to building new transmission.
1. Permitting: Before a shovel goes in the ground, developers must navigate an obstacle course of approvals: federal environmental reviews, state approvals, local siting authorities, and land-use agreements. It is common for projects to spend years or even decades in limbo. In the western half of the United States, lines like SunZia and TransWest have been delayed for around 20 years. Nationwide, about a third of Environmental Impact Statements completed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) between 2010 and 2018 for energy projects were for transmission lines, and many of those projects ended up in court.
2. Planning: There is no clear way to propose a new transmission line, even one that provides serious benefits to the system, and have it evaluated systematically and approved on a reasonable timescale. The process is patchy and inconsistent. Some regions have done better than others. For example, the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) created a portfolio of “Multi-Value Projects” that actually got built (mostly) on time and on budget. That is the exception, however, not the rule.
3. Paying: Every line must be paid for, ultimately, by the customers who use the power grid. The challenge is figuring out who benefits and making sure the costs are shared fairly. Black-letter case law says that costs should be allocated “roughly commensurate” with the benefits. That sounds straightforward, but in practice, disputes and a lack of legal clarity over cost allocation can tie up projects indefinitely.
What We Tried Before and Why It Did Not Work
Back in 2005, Congress tried to smooth the path for new transmission. It created “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors,” gave the Power Marketing Administrations new authority to participate in projects, and it even set up a way to consolidate environmental reviews.
On paper, these updates looked promising. In practice, not a single line has been completed under those authorities. Courts limited the government’s ability to step in when states blocked projects and also created the infamous “double NEPA” problem for federally sited transmission — 2 full environmental reviews for the same project.
The result: 20 years later, we are still stuck.
What Real Reform Could Look Like
So how do we move forward? There have been a number of proposals in Congress, including the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act sponsored by Senator Barrasso (R‑WY) and former Senator Manchin (I‑WV), which passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year on a bipartisan vote of 15 – 4.
Just this week, the 49 members of the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus voted to approve a broad permitting framework geared at unleashing all kinds of American energy infrastructure, including transmission.
A Chance for Common Ground
A closing observation I shared on the podcast is that once a particular energy technology scales up, it often becomes politically divisive. When a technology is still emerging, it tends to enjoy broad support. Transmission is unusual. It is both urgent and still widely recognized as something that helps bring new generation and power new demand.
That gives us a rare opportunity. By tackling permitting, planning, and paying, we can finally get serious about modernizing the grid. The payoff will be lower costs, greater reliability, and an energy system that positions America at the commanding heights of the 21st-century global economy.
