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This book assembles current knowledge about the economics and technology of electricity transmission, the focus being on current issues that are vital to utilities, other power producers, regulators, system planners, and electricity users. It will appeal to anyone who has an interest in understanding the complexities and problems surrounding the transmission of electricity in a market that is becoming increasingly deregulated and competitive

The pricing of access to electricity transmission networks in Australia is currently under review. Several options have been proposed including those based on nodal pricing and the assignment of transmission rights contracts. As most of the marginal costs of transmission are recovered through wholesale electricity prices we focus on the key issue of regulation and investment incentives. We find that current options are unlikely to be adequate in terms of encouraging socially optimal levels and timing of new transmission investment. As an alternative, we propose a regulatory scheme, based on a related idea by Sappington and Sibley that can overcome this problem. Our scheme can potentially generate first best results and is readily applicable given the current institutional structure of electricity markets in Australia.

This paper fi rst discusses features of the Third Energy Package" of EU legislation regarding electricity transmission system operators (TSOs), which has been in place since 2009. The Package envisages three different types of TSO organization: full ownership unbundling (OU), independent system operator (ISO), and independent transmission operator (ITO). The question of economic efficiency of the three possible settings occupies much of researchers' attention. Here we argue that the results of basic economic analytical models depend critically on whether the regulatory function is deemed efficiently executed, or not. Next, challenges posed in front of TSOs by rapid decarbonization of power systems are briefly discussed, too. The main conclusion is that the answer to a question which of the three types of TSO organization from EU regulations is economically most effi cient depends on quality of regulator's performance, which itself cannot be deemed (as often is in the literature) perfectly efficient.

Maintaining the quality and reliability of electricity transmission lines is central to effective energy governance. However, transmission line siting is often a contentious policy decision since permitting and constructing lines may involve private and public property, residents and communities, and localized and national concerns. Yet, policy conflict in transmission siting across cases and over time has remained largely understudied. This article derives and tests hypotheses about policy conflict in the context of transmission lines completed or constructed between 2017 and 2018 in the United States. In exploring the full population of transmission lines, we find that a majority exhibit relatively low and moderate levels of conflict and attention rather than high levels. We further examine a subset of six of these cases that represent a range of conflict and attention intensity. We describe variation in the diversity of actors and frames, advocacy coalitions, and the volume of discourse associated with transmission line siting over time. As problems related to energy governance have become more complex, energy siting disputes are likely to remain a fruitful area for research on policy conflict.

Imagine that you want to build a new electricity transmission line, so that the power generated by new solar or wind projects can be transmitted over the grid to where it is needed. The Permitting Institute provides the following helpful figure to show the process, although you may need to expand the figure on your … Continue reading What Permits are Needed for New Electricity Transmission Lines?
The post What Permits are Needed for New Electricity Transmission Lines? first appeared on Conversable Economist.

The electricity industry in most developed countries has been restructured over recent decades with the aim of improving both service quality and firm performance. Regulated segments (e.g. transmission) still provide the infrastructure for the competitive segments and represent a significant share of the total price paid by final customers. However there is a lack of empirical studies that analyse firms' performance in the electricity transmission sector. In this paper an empirical analysis of US electricity transmission companies is conducted for the period 2001–2009. We use alternative stochastic frontier models that allow us to identify the determinants of firms' inefficiency. These models also permit us to control for weather conditions, potentially one of the most decisive uncontrollable factors in electricity transmission. Our results suggest that weather conditions clearly have an influence on transmission costs and that there is room for improvement in the management of US electricity transmission systems. Regulators should also be aware that more adverse conditions generate higher levels of inefficiency, and that achieving long-term efficiency improvements tends to worsen firms' short-term relative performance. ; This research was partially funded by the Government of the Principality of Asturias and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors also acknowledge the support of the Energy Policy Research Group.

The European Union has set ambitious targets for deployment of renewable energy sources to reach goals of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. However, the current state of electricity transmission infrastructure is a major bottleneck for further scaling up of renewable energy in the EU. Several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity. In many countries, construction of electricity transmission projects has been delayed for several years due to concerns of local stakeholders. The innovative BESTGRID approach, reported here, brings together transmission system operators (TSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss and understand the nature of stakeholder concerns. This paper has three objectives: (1) to understand stakeholder concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission grids in four pilot projects according to five guiding principles: need, transparency, engagement, environment, and impacts on human health as well as benefits; (2) to understand how these principles can be addressed to provide a basis for better decision-making outcomes; and (3) to evaluate the BESTGRID process based on feedback received from stakeholders and the level of participation achieved according to the ladder of Arnstein. This paper goes beyond a discussion of "measures to mitigate opposition" to understand how dialogue between TSOs and the public—represented mainly by NGOs and policy-makers—might lead to a better decision-making process and more sustainable electricity transmission infrastructure deployment. ; ISSN:1996-1073

The European Union has set ambitious targets for deployment of renewable energy sources to reach goals of climate change mitigation and energy security policies. However, the current state of electricity transmission infrastructure is a major bottleneck for further scaling up of renewable energy in the EU. Several thousands of kilometers of new lines have to be constructed and upgraded to accommodate growing volumes of intermittent renewable electricity. In many countries, construction of electricity transmission projects has been delayed for several years due to concerns of local stakeholders. The innovative BESTGRID approach, reported here, brings together transmission system operators (TSOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to discuss and understand the nature of stakeholder concerns. This paper has three objectives: (1) to understand stakeholder concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission grids in four pilot projects according to five guiding principles: need, transparency, engagement, environment, and impacts on human health as well as benefits ; (2) to understand how these principles can be addressed to provide a basis for better decision-making outcomes ; and (3) to evaluate the BESTGRID process based on feedback received from stakeholders and the level of participation achieved according to the ladder of Arnstein. This paper goes beyond a discussion of "measures to mitigate opposition" to understand how dialogue between TSOs and the public—represented mainly by NGOs and policy-makers—might lead to a better decision-making process and more sustainable electricity transmission infrastructure deployment.