NIETC Southwest Grid Connector Public 2025-01-15 [Ellen White] 00:00:00 OK. [Ellen White] 00:00:00 I think we're going to get started now. [Ellen White] 00:00:02 Good afternoon, everyone. [Ellen White] 00:00:04 We're glad to have so many people join us today for the informational webinar on the potential Southwestern Grid Connector corridor. [Ellen White] 00:00:11 My name is Ellen White with Argonne National Laboratory. [Ellen White] 00:00:15 We are assisting the Grid Deployment Office in their NIETC designation process. [Ellen White] 00:00:19 So I'm going to run over a couple of housekeeping items and the agenda before passing it along to the GDO. [Ellen White] 00:00:27 So for housekeeping, this webinar will be recorded and will be posted to the NIETC website, which is listed on the screen here, and I believe someone will be putting that in the chat too so that you can link to the website. [Ellen White] 00:00:41 The chat function and microphones are disabled for the entire webinar, but the Q&A function is accessible and you can find that at the bottom of your screen. [Ellen White] 00:00:53 It'll either be a button at the bottom or it could be under the button labeled More. [Ellen White] 00:01:00 The GDO will not be providing responses to the questions today, but the questions will be collected and will be used to develop into an FAQ document that will be posted to the website. [Ellen White] 00:01:11 Also, closed captioning is available and you can enable it using the More button at the bottom of the screen and then select closed captioning. [Ellen White] 00:01:25 OK, So for the agenda today, first we'll run through some introductions, explain what GDO does, the kind of work the office does. [Ellen White] 00:01:34 We'll walk you through the NIETC designation process. [Ellen White] 00:01:37 And then lastly or and then we'll talk, describe the corridor we're here to talk about today, the potential Southwestern Grid Connector corridor. [Ellen White] 00:01:45 And lastly, discuss how you can engage and comment on the potential corridor or any of the corridors you might have interested in. [Ellen White] 00:01:53 And with that, I am going to pass the presentation along to Pat Hoffman, who is the Principal Deputy Director of the Grid Deployment Office. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:02 Thank you, thank you, Ellen. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:04 I'd like to thank you and all the team members at the Grid Deployment Office for their hard work in this area. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:11 It's been a lot of work and a lot of activity, so I would like to just spend a moment and talk about the Grid Deployment Office. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:18 The Grid Deployment Office is a relatively new office at the Department of Energy. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:23 It was established in 20/22. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:25 It was really created to focus on three areas. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:29 The first area was focused on critical resource adequacy and critical generation source sources. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:36 And what we wanted to do was make sure that we had the flexible sources available in support of the reliability of the electric system as well as understanding how to better enhance electricity markets for needs moving forward. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:02:52 Look at options and stakeholder engagements as we think about how do some of these new sources and new services really be responsive in electricity markets. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:03:03 The second area is really catalyzing the development of new and upgraded high capacity electricity electric transmission lines. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:03:11 And what we really want to do is make sure that we're thinking about and that we have engagement with the industry on where some of those high priority lines are, where some of the opportunities are for transmission lines, whether it's upgrading the transfer, reconducting and upgrading the lines or really establishing new transmission lines. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:03:31 In addition, we know the strength of the distribution system always can be improved upon and we are looking at deployment of opportunities to really improve the reliability at the distribution level. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:03:44 The third area, of course is really focused on resilience and how do we support the electric sector as we deal with such a challenging time frame. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:03:55 We think about the unfortunate issues with the wildfires that are going on in the West as well as hurricanes and other events that's putting stress on how the electric system should be advanced in the technologies that should be added to the system to really improve its capability and capacity to deal with extreme weather events and just some of these unfortunate issues that we have to deal with moving forward. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:04:24 Next slide. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:04:25 Oh, wait, I'll back up for a second. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:04:28 The Grid Deployment Office also oversees about $22 billion in funding from BIL and IRA and our annual appropriations to fulfill this message mission. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:04:39 As we think about transformation and how do we work on transforming the electric system and really what how do we deploy solutions to lower energy costs and improve grid reliability and resilience. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:04:53 As part of our activities, we work closely with states, Tribes, territories, industry and communities and thinking about how can our programs really support the the transmission systems. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:06 That's really important to local issues and local events that we have to deal with. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:12 But we recognize that the transmission and distribution system are really is the backbone of America's economy and national security as part of the infrastructure. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:23 Next slide. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:26 So what is a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor? [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:30 A NIETC is an area in the country where there is inadequate transmission that could harm consumers now or in the future. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:40 DOE is congressionally authorized to identify and designate NIETCs under the Federal Power Act. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:48 In case anybody's curious, this is 216.a of the Federal Power Act, which was amended by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:05:57 And what that amendment did was allowed us to look forward to forward-looking scenarios, whereas the original authorization had us looking at only what has happened in the past to really look at some of that analysis for potential designation. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:15 Under this authorization, the Secretary, if the Secretary chooses to do so, can designate a NIETC based on several criteria. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:26 The first criteria is the presence of a pressing transmission need in an area. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:31 Based on the findings from the National Transmission Needs Study. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:36 This is DOE’s triennial state of the grid report that assesses current and expected transmission capacity constraints and congestions, as well as other information that we do as part of the analysis. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:50 If anybody is interested in looking at the Needs Study, it is available on our website. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:06:56 It is a powerful document that really has looked at numerous scenarios, looked at other studies, looked at reports. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:07:02 It's a great compilation of a lot of the thought process and analysis in the transmission space. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:07:11 The other things that the Secretary would look at evaluate is other relevant factors of such that NIETC would further national energy strategy, energy policy, maximizing the use of existing rights away or reducing electricity costs for consumers. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:07:28 So designating NIETCs really focuses public and policy makers attention on the greatest area of transmission need and unlocks a number of federal tools to advanced transmission deployment. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:07:43 The federal tools that are listed here are the Transmission Facilitation Program, the Transmission Financing Facility Financing program and also unlocks the ability for federal citing and permitting authority. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:07:55 But this authority is carried out by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under a separate process. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:02 So what I would like to do at this moment in time is just briefly talk about the two authorities that are under the Department of Energy's purview. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:12 Next slide. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:14 The Transmission Facilitation Program is a $2.5 billion revolving fund borrowing authority that really provides some federal support to overcome hurdles and market barriers for developing large scale transmission lines. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:29 The the opportunity that this tool provides is really looking at the the ability for the department to do capacity contracts, what we call anchor tenant on transmission lines, which really helps advance and stabilize transmission lines and the investments moving forward. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:46 In addition, we can do public private partnerships that are in designated NIETC areas and we also can do loans. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:08:55 The projects that you see here are projects that we have already obligated funds for in support of these projects as part of the capacity contract program and we look forward to the continued development of these projects. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:10 Next slide, the Transmission Facility Financing program, this, this program can only be unlocked if we have a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor designation. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:26 It is a $2 billion loan program that allows for us to provide direct loans and transmission. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:32 Of course with in these areas fully in these areas designated by in the sea. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:38 We have the ability to execute this program once in the sea is designated and we will have a process in place. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:47 But once again, this is if a NIETC is designated. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:09:51 So we hope to launch the program and launch the activity, but we need that NIETC kind of decision process moving forward. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:10:00 There is more information on the website if you would like any more information on the TFF or the TFP program. [Patricia Hoffman] 00:10:07 So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Molly Roy to talk a little bit more on the NIETC process. [Molly Roy] 00:10:14 Thank you so much, Pat, and thank you everyone for being here today. [Molly Roy] 00:10:18 My name is Molly Roy, I'm a Senior Project Manager with the Grid Deployment Office and I'm going to talk more about the NIETC designation process and the specific potential corridor we're talking about today. [Molly Roy] 00:10:30 So on the screen you can see laid out the four phase process that GDO has established for designating a NIETC. [Molly Roy] 00:10:38 We established this process in December 2023 and at that time also opened the first phase one information gathering window. [Molly Roy] 00:10:48 So at that time we collected a lot of public comment and comment from other from any interested party about where we should or should not designate a corridor. [Molly Roy] 00:10:58 We took that along with our our own analysis or a view of our National Transmission Needs Study that Pat was talking about and based on all of that put out a list of 10 potential corridors. [Molly Roy] 00:11:13 That was the preliminary list that started phase two. [Molly Roy] 00:11:17 We released that in May 2024. [Molly Roy] 00:11:20 So then we opened another public comment period on that list of 10, got more comments and information, took all that back. [Molly Roy] 00:11:30 And about a month ago in December, we announced phase three that we had gone from 10 potential corridors we were considering down to three and then also refined and narrowed the boundaries of those 3 so that those are the 3/4 that we are considering now. [Molly Roy] 00:11:48 We're in another public comment period right now. [Molly Roy] 00:11:51 And as we continue in this phase, we will also conduct continuing community engagement as well as any required environmental reviews, which we'll talk more about in a moment. [Molly Roy] 00:12:03 And based on all that, the final NIETCs designated would be phase four of the process. [Molly Roy] 00:12:12 So as you can see, it's designed to be an iterative process where we take we have a number of rounds of public comment and this public comment period where now will not be the last one that we do before final NIETCs are designated. [Molly Roy] 00:12:27 So with that, let's move to the next slide. [Molly Roy] 00:12:31 So each of the three corridors that we're currently considering in phase three meet these five bullets that you see on the screen. [Molly Roy] 00:12:40 So first of all, each of them supports critical transmission development to address needs on the grid unmet through existing planning processes. [Molly Roy] 00:12:51 Each of them address key findings in DOE’s 2023 Needs Study as well as aligned with other DOE priorities. [Molly Roy] 00:12:59 Each of them demonstrates a clear utility of NIETC designation to further transmission in the near term. [Molly Roy] 00:13:05 So those tools that Pat was just talking about, the financing tools and the siting authority at FERC, those could be potentially used in the potential NIETCs that we're currently considering. [Molly Roy] 00:13:21 The corridors, potential corridors contain sufficient information to narrow the boundaries, which is important to facilitate timely environmental review if we are required to do so. [Molly Roy] 00:13:33 And as well as they all balanced DOE resources, both staff time and other resources to achieve timely durable designations that follow from the robust public engagement that each of these corridors deserve. [Molly Roy] 00:13:49 And with that, let's talk about the specific corridor we're here to focus on today. [Molly Roy] 00:13:54 So this is the potential Southwestern Grid Connector corridor. [Molly Roy] 00:13:59 You can see here on the screen is a map. [Molly Roy] 00:14:02 We're also in a little bit going to show you how you can look in more detail at this map and zoom in and out and other things nearby with a web platform that we have. [Molly Roy] 00:14:14 So, but first, quickly, a geographic description. [Molly Roy] 00:14:17 As you can see, it includes parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and it does go a little into the western edge of the Oklahoma Panhandle. [Molly Roy] 00:14:24 It follows existing transmission line rights of way for parts of its path. [Molly Roy] 00:14:29 It ranges from 5 to 15 miles wide depending on where you are in the corridor. [Molly Roy] 00:14:35 And based on our analysis to date, we believe transmission would could maintain and improve reliability and resilience in the region. [Molly Roy] 00:14:44 It could alleviate congestion on the electric grid. [Molly Roy] 00:14:48 It could increase integration of new energy supplies and meet future demand growth. [Molly Roy] 00:14:53 And it could provide cross interconnection and interregional connections between the Southwest Power Pool and WestConnect regions. [Molly Roy] 00:15:01 And lastly, it would like to note that we are aware of two transmission projects in development in this potential corridor that could potentially use those tools that we were talking about. [Molly Roy] 00:15:12 So those are the Heartland Spirit Connector project by NextEra and the Southline Phase 3 project by Grid United. [Molly Roy] 00:15:20 With that let's go to the next slide. [Molly Roy] 00:15:23 So just to cover the rough timeline we have set up and some next steps and the timeline is rough because the some of the decisions we still need to make will significantly impact that timeline. [Molly Roy] 00:15:36 But here's our current estimate. [Molly Roy] 00:15:37 So as you can see, the first step on the timeline in January, we're holding webinars right now for each of these potential NIETCs in February is when the public comment, this current public comment period is complete. [Molly Roy] 00:15:51 So at that time we'll consolidate and consider all the comments received in the spring. [Molly Roy] 00:15:58 We aim to determine whether NEPA, the National Environmental Policy Act applies to these corridor designations and we'll talk a bit more about that decision in a moment. [Molly Roy] 00:16:09 And if so, then determine the appropriate level of that NEPA analysis for each corridor and begin the analysis at this point. [Molly Roy] 00:16:16 You'll note in green at the bottom, we are saying each of the corridors will proceed through this timeline independently based on what they need for any required environmental reviews. [Molly Roy] 00:16:28 And as I noted, there will be continue additional public engagement on both the transmission need and potential environmental impacts after this current comment period that will inform both the designation report and of any environmental documents. [Molly Roy] 00:16:44 So just to complete the timeline at the bottom, this summer is the current target for when we could open for my formal application process for the transmission facility financing program. [Molly Roy] 00:16:55 The one Pat was talking about can only be run in a can only be provided to projects in designated NIETCs. [Molly Roy] 00:17:04 And for the as I said, the rough timeline we have for conducting any required environmental reviews is from 2025 to 2026. [Molly Roy] 00:17:12 That will certainly depend on the level of NEPA analysis required. [Molly Roy] 00:17:16 And so we have the rough time period of 2026 to release any draft NIETC designation reports and draft environmental documents, which will also go through a round of public comments on those documents themselves before really sending releasing any final NIETC designation. [Molly Roy] 00:17:36 And so with the next slide, I am going to be handing this back to Ellen to cover the NEPA determinate NEPA determination process and talk about the web platform we have for mapping. [Ellen White] 00:17:46 Great. [Ellen White] 00:17:46 Thanks, Molly. [Ellen White] 00:17:48 Yeah. [Ellen White] 00:17:48 So in the previous slide, we talked about NEPA determination and NEPA stands for the National Environmental Policy Act and it requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of any proposed major federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. [Ellen White] 00:18:06 So the first step in determining the level of NEPA analysis is to ask the question, is NIETC designation a major federal action? [Ellen White] 00:18:15 If it's determined that it's not a major federal action, then no NEPA analysis or documentation would be required. [Ellen White] 00:18:23 If NIETC designation is determined to be a major federal action, then the second step is to determine if it would have an effect on the human environment. [Ellen White] 00:18:34 So if the NIETC designation is an action that normally does not have a significant effect or impact on the environment, it would be categorically excluded from a detailed environmental analysis. [Ellen White] 00:18:47 If it's unlikely or unknown whether NIETC designation could have a significant impact on the environment, then the GDO would issue an environmental assessment. [Ellen White] 00:18:58 And through that environmental assessment, if the findings are that there would be no significant impact on the environment, they would issue a FONSI, which is a finding of no significant impact. [Ellen White] 00:19:11 That explains the reasons why it has concluded that if the GDO expects NIETC designation to read have reasonably foreseeable significant effects, they would prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, also known as an EIS, which is a multidisciplinary document that analyzes the environmental, social, and economic effects from a proposed action. [Ellen White] 00:19:35 And it involves multiple public input opportunities and concludes in a record of decision, which is the agency's decision on the action. [Ellen White] 00:19:45 So three different steps, three different levels of of possible outcomes in the NEPA determination process. [Ellen White] 00:19:53 Next, we're going to go over the Geospatial Energy Mapper or GEM tool. [Ellen White] 00:19:59 It can be found at gem.anl.gov and I think that's also going to be put in the chat for you to easily link to it. [Ellen White] 00:20:08 And we hope that you use this tool, explore it and are able it it helps you provide informed questions or comments as you consider the potential NIETCs. [Ellen White] 00:20:17 So the tool is a data and analysis tool. [Ellen White] 00:20:22 It has a huge catalog of lots of different data layers for energy planning and energy infrastructure. [Ellen White] 00:20:29 You can browse all the different data layers to identify areas of concern. [Ellen White] 00:20:35 So I'm going to go through a quick demo. [Ellen White] 00:20:37 I'm going to share my screen, and I think you should be able to see it now. [Ellen White] 00:20:50 So when you go to gem.anl.gov, this is the homepage. [Ellen White] 00:20:53 This is what you see. [Ellen White] 00:20:55 You can enter your e-mail to subscribe if you'd like. [Ellen White] 00:20:58 But to launch the tool, you can click here or in the upper right hand corner, launch gem and it will open a second screen that has the map in the middle. [Ellen White] 00:21:11 On the left is where you can explore all the different layers. [Ellen White] 00:21:14 And then as you add layers to the map, it will populate into this legend so that you can see what what layers are up on the map. [Ellen White] 00:21:21 So to first put the NIETCs up on this map, we're going to go down to Mapping Themes. [Ellen White] 00:21:28 And these are just different groupings by subject. [Ellen White] 00:21:30 They're pre populated with layers that relate to that subject. [Ellen White] 00:21:34 Here's one called potential NIETCs that includes all the NIETCs. [Ellen White] 00:21:38 And you can see that when you click on that, it pre populates it with both the NIETC layers, which are in blue, all three of them transmission lines of various sizes, and also the federal land or surface management agency layer. [Ellen White] 00:21:52 And so we're going to use this little + at the bottom to zoom in on the Southwestern Grid Connector corridor so you can see the different colors of the different federal lands and the the blue NIETC here and the transmission lines. [Ellen White] 00:22:12 So let's say we're interested in biological resources or ecology and you want to add some, some layers to the map. [Ellen White] 00:22:21 What you could do is there is a biology mapping theme, but you could also go up here to explore the layer catalog. [Ellen White] 00:22:30 And this includes all the layers. [Ellen White] 00:22:33 It's a list of about 240, I think, layers. [Ellen White] 00:22:37 So you could read through them all, but you could also filter by keyword and do a search, a word search, or go to category here. [Ellen White] 00:22:44 So I'm going to go to category and click on ecology. [Ellen White] 00:22:48 And these are the layers associated with ecology that are on GEM. [Ellen White] 00:22:53 So I'm going to go ahead and click on the critical habitat. [Ellen White] 00:22:57 We'll do both NOAA and Fish and Wildlife Service layers here, and you can see that on the right. [Ellen White] 00:23:06 Whatever is highlighted here will tell you what the layer is, the source data, and the date. [Ellen White] 00:23:13 You can also click on metadata down at the bottom here, and that will pop up another window that explains the layer in a little bit more detail. [Ellen White] 00:23:22 And you can also download the layer there. [Ellen White] 00:23:24 So if you want to download this to your own computer and your own program, you can do that. [Ellen White] 00:23:31 So I'm going to X out of here. [Ellen White] 00:23:33 Once this blue check mark is on the layer, it means it's already added to the map. [Ellen White] 00:23:37 So you can X out of here and you can see here's some things have been added, critical habitat line data from both Fish and Wildlife Service at NOAA and then critical habitat area layers as well. [Ellen White] 00:23:54 And under it you can tell between the different colors, endangered, threatened. [Ellen White] 00:24:01 And so that's how you can add layers to the map. [Ellen White] 00:24:05 If, for instance, you're interested in a species that isn't proposed or isn't endangered or threatened, doesn't have contain critical habitat, but you have the data layer available to you, you can click on file and you can upload your own data layers to this map to the mapping tool. [Ellen White] 00:24:20 So you can see where the habitat for any other species or any other resource is in relation to the NIETC itself. [Ellen White] 00:24:27 You can also click on any one of these layers just like you could in the layer catalog and it will pop up information about about the layer. [Ellen White] 00:24:40 And same you could download. [Ellen White] 00:24:42 So you can download the layers for the actual NIETCs and put them on your own program. [Ellen White] 00:24:48 So one thing is I was looking at the is we're looking at these line data. [Ellen White] 00:24:52 These red lines are awfully close to the colors of the transmission lines. [Ellen White] 00:24:57 So there's a couple things you can do to help differentiate between the different layers. [Ellen White] 00:25:02 This button here is you can remove the layer entirely. [Ellen White] 00:25:04 So say we wanted to look at critical habitat, but not the transmission lines. [Ellen White] 00:25:09 You could remove that layer. [Ellen White] 00:25:10 You still kind of want to be able to look at the transmission lines later, but not you really are interested in critical habitat. [Ellen White] 00:25:16 You can click that, it hides that layer so that only these line critical habitat data comes up and then you can show it on different various layers. [Ellen White] 00:25:33 Where did that go? [Ellen White] 00:25:38 Did I accidentally delete it anyway? [Ellen White] 00:25:41 And then the the other thing, alternately, you can change the transparency so you could make the layers lighter or darker. [Ellen White] 00:25:47 You can see it kind of popping in and out to change the different transparencies. [Ellen White] 00:25:54 And lastly, you can measure, you can measure area or or distance. [Ellen White] 00:25:59 You can draw lines and polygons on the map and you can print your map. [Ellen White] 00:26:03 If you have a bunch of layers you want to kind of show what this map looks like, you can print a copy. [Ellen White] 00:26:07 So in a nutshell, that is GEM and hope you are able to kind of use it, test it out and use it to provide informed comments. [Ellen White] 00:26:23 Hey, I'm gonna pass it back to Molly. [Molly Roy] 00:26:26 Great. [Molly Roy] 00:26:26 Thank you, Ellen. [Molly Roy] 00:26:28 So as we go back to the slides, I think we just have two slides left. [Molly Roy] 00:26:32 Just a reminder, you can put Q&A in the Q&A box as we go. [Molly Roy] 00:26:36 That should be in the bottom of your screen or under the more menu. [Molly Roy] 00:26:41 And we're also now gonna tell you ways that you can follow up with us if you have questions afterwards as well. [Molly Roy] 00:26:46 But we'll leave the Zoom open for a few minutes in case you want to finish typing your question after we're done talking. [Molly Roy] 00:26:53 So how you can engage and give us feedback. [Molly Roy] 00:26:56 So as I said, we're in the middle of a public comment period now. [Molly Roy] 00:26:59 We started that comment period on December 16th when we published a notice in the Federal Register. [Molly Roy] 00:27:06 The comments are due February 14th. [Molly Roy] 00:27:09 We'll continue to be engaging after that time, but you know, got to set a deadline on these comment periods so we can then move on to the decisions we need to be making as part of this process. [Molly Roy] 00:27:20 So right now we're particularly seeking input and comment on these three bullets that I'll go over, but it's not exclusive to this, you know, welcome comments and other things as well, but this is what we're really focusing on right now. [Molly Roy] 00:27:31 So first, environmental, cultural or socio economic effects that may occur should DOE designate any of these potential NIETCs. [Molly Roy] 00:27:41 We also are looking for comments on the contents of DOE’s proposed public engagement engagement framework and any unique public engagement and governmental consultation factors that DOE should account for in each potential NIETC. [Molly Roy] 00:27:54 So really as we move forward, how is it best to engage with the public in these in these areas of the potential NIETCs we're considering if there's particular groups that we should reach out to, to communicate through or existing meetings we should join or anything like that, we would love to hear that. [Molly Roy] 00:28:12 Now we're also accepting meeting requests. [Molly Roy] 00:28:15 You can e-mail the e-mail you see here on the screen and we'll also have that on the next slide. [Molly Roy] 00:28:21 Just based on staff capacity, we may not be able to accept all of them and may organize group meetings based on topic, geography or other common feature so we can accommodate more. [Molly Roy] 00:28:32 So next slide. [Molly Roy] 00:28:36 This is how to submit any comments. [Molly Roy] 00:28:38 We have the e-mail NIETC@hq.doe.gov. [Molly Roy] 00:28:41 We also have a physical mailing address as well as the comment comment dockets on regulations.gov. [Molly Roy] 00:28:49 That's where the Federal Register notice is. [Molly Roy] 00:28:52 And we have both general docket that applies to all three of the potential corridors we're looking at in phase three and one specific to the Southwestern Grid Connector corridor. [Molly Roy] 00:29:02 So you can go to either of those, submit comments, they'll get to us. [Molly Roy] 00:29:07 You can e-mail us, they'll get to us. [Molly Roy] 00:29:08 You can mail us, and we welcome all of your feedback. [Molly Roy] 00:29:13 With that, thank you so much for being here today. [Molly Roy] 00:29:15 Please again, feel free to put questions in the Q&A now or e-mail us if you think of them afterwards. [Molly Roy] 00:29:22 And we'll keep this open in a few minutes more if you have questions you want to submit. [Molly Roy] 00:29:29 Thank you so much. [Molly Roy] 00:29:31 Appreciate your time.