On December 4, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Deployment Office (GDO) announced technical assistance (TA) available to states to help them engage in transmission planning activities, including the new long-term regional transmission planning processes being developed in response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order No. 1920. FERC Order No. 1920 requires regional transmission planning entities to conduct long-term and more comprehensive regional transmission planning and expands the role of state entities in informing the processes and determining how the costs of new transmission facilities will be allocated to customers.
TA can include:
- Targeted education to provide foundational knowledge of transmission planning principles so states are prepared to offer meaningful input at every opportunity.
- Tailored consultations with subject matter experts to address a specific need or concern, including:
- Resource archive: An easy-to-access compilation of educational resources on FERC Order No. 1920, focused on key transmission planning topics and considerations.
- Help desk: 4 hours of research and/or consultation to orient states on general FERC Order No. 1920 topics, assist with development of applications for Expert Match, Deep Dive, and/or Peer-Sharing Cohorts, and other general support.
- Expert match: 80 hours of
- Peer-sharing cohorts to provide forums for states to learn from subject matter experts and each other, or to coordinate participation from several states in their relevant planning entity’s stakeholder process. (i.e., development of standardized templates that states can use to provide data in an appropriate format to inform long-term planning scenarios; facilitation support for states to participate in regional transmission planning convenings, etc.). Cohort sessions will be organized around specific topics or compliance regions to explore common questions, needs, and approaches (i.e., public utility commissions, state energy offices, state siting and permitting authorities, state transmission authorities, regional-state committees, etc.)
- In-depth partnerships to address complex technical, economic, market, or other questions using state-of-the-art capabilities at DOE’s national laboratories (i.e., long-term scenario planning, modeling of sensitivities for extreme weather, development and analysis of evaluation and selection criteria, etc.). This includes a Deep Dive TA option that includes 12-18 months of rigorous modeling and/or analysis.
Most TA requests will be accepted on a rolling basis and successful applicants will begin receiving support approximately one month after the application is processed. Deep Dive TA requests will be accepted semi-annually via a short application form, and successful applicants will begin receiving support approximately three months after the application is processed. The application deadline for the initial Deep Dive TA cycle is December 31, 2024.
States are encouraged to contact GDO at transmission@hq.doe.gov if they have questions about how TA offerings can be tailored to meet their needs, as GDO seeks to accommodate a variety of activities related to transmission planning and FERC Order No. 1920.