I concur in today’s order as it confirms that: (i) the issue before this Commission in the paper hearing and FPA section 206 proceedings is not who will pay the expenses incurred in acquiring any third-party land, but instead who will engage in the efforts to do so, and (ii) the expenses associated with the acquisition of such land will be borne by the interconnection customer, i.e., the generation developer.[1] I vote for this order because the fact that such costs are to be paid by the interconnection customer – not passed on to retail consumers either directly or indirectly – is exactly as it should be.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
[1] See, e.g., Order at P 38 (“Order No. 2003 requires that, at the interconnection customer’s expense, the transmission provider or the transmission owner—not the interconnection customer—use efforts, similar in nature and extent to those that it typically undertakes on its own behalf or on behalf of its affiliates, to procure land rights and permits necessary to construct, operate, and maintain Network Upgrades on property owned by persons other than the interconnection customer, transmission provider, or transmission owner.”) (footnotes omitted); id. at n.91 (“To clarify, the issue in the record before us is not who will pay for the ‘efforts’ to acquire the third-party land, but rather who will be responsible for engaging in those efforts. Under Commission precedent, i.e., Order No. 2003, the interconnection customer is responsible for the expenses associated with the efforts used to procure any rights of use, licenses, rights of way, and easements from a third party that are necessary to construct, operate, maintain, test, inspect, replace or remove Transmission Provider or Transmission Owner’s Interconnection Facilities and/or Network Upgrades upon such property. Order No. 2003-B, 109 FERC ¶ 61,287 at P 89 (discussing article 5.13 of the pro forma LGIA). When the land is acquired, the interconnection customer is obligated to pay for the costs of Local Upgrades and Network Upgrades necessary to accommodate its interconnection that would not have been incurred ‘but for’ the project. PJM, Intra-PJM Tariffs, OATT 217.3(a) Local and Network Upgrades (4.0.0); see Sw. Power Pool, Inc., 171 FERC ¶ 61,118, at P 28 (2020) (finding that the cost of land, including costs associated with site improvements, such as gravel and fencing, falls within the ‘but for’ standard).”); id. PP 39-41.