High Level
This week’s transmission developments reflect an inflection
point where regulatory caution, political realignment, and technical strategy
converge. The New York PSC paused its offshore wind transmission procurement
due to federal permitting paralysis, while PSEG in Maryland escalated its legal
push to access private land for required surveys. Meanwhile, four Colorado
utilities announced a new transmission collaboration to tackle congestion and
load growth outside of Xcel’s grid, and Utah explored reconductoring as a
scalable way to increase capacity. In Washington, GOP lawmakers began reframing
transmission as a grid reliability tool for powering AI infrastructure. And at
the federal agency level, DOE delayed its proposed rollback of cross-border
permitting rules in response to adverse comments. Across the board, grid
modernization efforts are advancing, but only under conditions of legal
defensibility, technical pragmatism, and political rebranding.
Full View
Four Colorado utilities form transmission partnership to
address demand and congestion
• What happened: CORE Electric Cooperative, Colorado Springs Utilities,
Platte River Power Authority, and United Power launched a joint initiative to
explore transmission upgrades and shared electricity delivery strategies across
Colorado’s Front Range.
• Who did it: The four utilities, which collectively serve 1.5 million
customers.
• Why they did it: To manage rising demand, avoid congestion on
Xcel-owned lines, and support carbon reduction goals with more flexible,
cost-efficient infrastructure.
• Stakeholder views:
• Pam Feuerstein (CORE): “A positive first step in exploring… growth and
resiliency.”
• Mark Gabriel (United Power): “Addressing transmission congestion is
critical.”
• Travas Deal (Colorado Springs): “Demand could grow more rapidly… if the city
had the resources.”
• What happens next: The utilities will explore 345-kV upgrades and
potential RTO membership alignment.
Big
Pivots, “Teaming up to create bigger highways of electrons,” July 16, 2025
United
Power, “Four Colorado Utilities Form Strategic Transmission Partnership,” July
2025
New York halts offshore wind transmission solicitation
amid federal permitting freeze
• What happened: The New York PSC terminated its Public Policy
Transmission Need (PPTN) solicitation for 8 GW of offshore wind due to federal
leasing delays.
• Who did it: New York Public Service Commission, led by Chair Rory M.
Christian.
• Why they did it: To avoid ratepayer costs amid a Trump administration
moratorium on new federal offshore wind permitting.
• Stakeholder views:
• Christian: “We must act to protect consumers… This is not the end.”
• Hillary Bright (Turn Forward): “Shovel-ready offshore wind projects are
poised to add major capacity.”
• Chris Casey (NRDC): “A huge missed opportunity… New York must continue to
lead.”
• What happens next: South Fork, Empire, and Sunrise Wind continue; 2026
Clean Energy Standard review to incorporate lessons.
Reuters,
Renewables Now, RTO Insider, OEDigital, July 16–18, 2025
Renewables
Now, “NY halts offshore wind transmission plan,” July 18, 2025
RTO
Insider, “NY Steps Back from OSW,” July 17, 2025
OEDigital,
“New York Terminates Offshore Wind Transmission Plan,” July 17, 2025
PSEG files second lawsuit to access Maryland properties
for Piedmont transmission surveys
• What happened: PSEG filed a second lawsuit to access 149 more
properties for surveys tied to its 67-mile Maryland Piedmont Reliability
Project.
• Who did it: Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), a New Jersey-based
utility.
• Why they did it: To comply with Maryland permitting requirements after
voluntary access was denied by landowners.
• Stakeholder views:
• PSEG: “State law allows us to access properties to complete required
surveys.”
• Joanne Frederick (STOP MPRP): “This escalation confirms our fears… We’re
working to protect landowners.”
• Del. Nino Mangione: “This is a terrible project… not going to benefit the
people.”
• What happens next: The original ruling is under appeal; surveys on new
parcels require 24-hour notice.
FOX45
News, “Transmission developers file second lawsuit against landowners,” July
16, 2025
Maryland
Matters, “PSEG’s second lawsuit deepens transmission fight,” July 17, 2025
WBAL,
“Landowners speak out against transmission line plan,” July 2025
Utah briefing explores reconductoring strategies to boost
grid capacity and efficiency
• What happened: Utah regulators hosted a technical session on upgrading
aging lines through reconductoring, including high-performance composite
conductors.
• Who did it: Utah PSC, legislative task forces, and invited experts.
• Why they did it: To expand grid capacity without new right-of-way
acquisition and reduce transmission losses.
• Stakeholder views:
• Experts: Reconductoring just 25% of aging lines could add 27 GW.
• FERC requires consideration of high-performance conductors in all planning
processes.
• What happens next: Utah may require utilities to evaluate
reconductoring in their IRPs.
Citizen
Portal, “Experts Propose New Strategies for Upgrading Aging Transmission
Lines,” July 16, 2025
GridLab,
“Advanced Conductors: Technical and Economic Analysis,” 2024
Federal
Register, “Managing Transmission Line Ratings,” Jan. 13, 2022
GOP lawmakers signal openness to transmission permitting
reforms amid AI demand surge
• What happened: Key congressional Republicans began signaling support
for “the right kind” of transmission expansion, framed as reliability
infrastructure needed for AI-related demand growth.
• Who did it: GOP leaders including Rep. Brett Guthrie, Rep. Troy
Balderson, Sen. Steve Daines, and White House officials.
• Why they did it: To align transmission with dispatchable power
generation and avoid permitting plans perceived as favoring renewables.
• Stakeholder views:
• White House: Supports transmission that brings “reliable, dispatchable
generation online.”
• Guthrie: “We need the generation, and we need to move it.”
• Balderson: “More transmission is undoubtedly needed… NIMBYism remains a
hurdle.”
• What happens next: Transmission may be included in broader GOP-led
permitting reform packages.
Axios
Pro, “GOP seeks ‘the right kind’ of transmission to feed AI,” July 16, 2025
Congress.gov,
“House Report on H.R. 3062,” 2025
DOE delays rule to eliminate permitting for cross-border
transmission lines
• What happened: DOE postponed a rule that would end Presidential Permit
requirements for international transmission lines, citing adverse public
comments.
• Who did it: U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office.
• Why they did it: The rule aimed to ease regulatory burdens and advance
President Trump’s energy agenda, but met with regulatory and environmental
objections.
• Stakeholder views:
• DOE: Current permitting rules “impose burdens” and “hinder American energy.”
• What happens next: DOE will evaluate comments before deciding whether
to withdraw or revise the rule.
WFMZ,
“Energy Department delays rule to end permits for cross-border transmission
lines,” July 14, 2025
Foley
& Lardner, “DOE Rule to Eliminate Cross-Border Permits,” May 2025
DOE,
“Presidential Permits Procedures,” 2025
What’s the So What?
This week’s developments reveal a troubling pattern:
transmission policy is increasingly governed not by engineering imperatives or
system needs, but by political optics, regulatory hesitancy, and factional
deal-making. The result is a grid expansion process that is fragmented at best,
and deliberately constrained at worst.
The pause of New York’s offshore wind transmission
solicitation exemplifies this dysfunction. State planners scrapped a carefully
scoped transmission process, one poised to deliver 8 gigawatts of clean power,
because federal agencies, under the Trump administration’s permitting
moratorium, cannot be relied upon to act. This is not strategic delay. It is
institutional paralysis, driven by an executive order that fails to account for
real-world grid stress, load growth, or capital timelines. When permitting policy
is dictated by ideological hostility rather than reliability modeling, progress
halts.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s attempt to eliminate
Presidential Permits for cross-border transmission lines now sits in limbo,
delayed by the Department of Energy in response to overwhelming public
criticism. The rule’s retreat, at least for now, serves as a reminder that this
administration often floats maximalist policy changes without the legal
grounding or interagency coordination to carry them through. In the end,
despite bold claims of "unleashing American energy," the policy quietly
stalls. Call it what you will, but some observers have noted a familiar
pattern: Trump Always Chickens Out when scrutiny arrives.
In Congress, Republican leaders have begun warming to
transmission reform, but only under specific ideological terms. They are
increasingly willing to support “the right kind” of wires, those that serve
dispatchable, often fossil-heavy, generation assets. While this reframing opens
the door to cooperation, it is not yet grounded in grid data or public interest
metrics. It reflects a corporate worldview where infrastructure investment is
validated not by capacity expansion or interregional flow but by political
acceptability and investor preference.
At the state level, there are flashes of technocratic
maturity. In Utah, regulators explored reconductoring as a low-conflict,
high-value solution to grid capacity constraints. In Colorado, four utilities
are proactively working to coordinate transmission expansion without waiting
for state or federal intervention. These efforts show that with the right
regulatory incentives and planning frameworks, transmission can still advance
on practical terms. But they remain the exception, not the rule.
What is missing across most of these cases is a coherent
national transmission strategy, one that treats infrastructure as a public good
rather than a battleground. We are still in a moment where politics, not power
flow, decides whether lines get built. And that, more than any specific
permitting decision or court ruling, is the real threat to grid resilience.
Bibliography
Big Pivots. “Teaming up to create bigger highways of
electrons.” July 16, 2025. https://bigpivots.com/teaming-up-to-create-bigger-highways-of-electrons/
United Power. “Four Colorado Utilities Form Strategic Transmission
Partnership.” July 2025. https://www.unitedpower.com/four-colorado-utilities-partner-explore-transmission-solutions
Reuters. “New York halts offshore wind transmission plan amid federal
uncertainty.” July 17, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/new-york-halts-offshore-wind-transmission-plan-amid-federal-uncertainty-2025-07-17/
Renewables Now. “NY halts offshore wind transmission plan to line up with Trump
order.” July 18, 2025. https://renewablesnow.com/news/ny-halts-offshore-wind-transmission-plan-to-line-up-with-trump-order-1278699/
RTO Insider. “NY Steps Back from OSW, Halts Offshore Transmission.” July 17,
2025. https://www.rtoinsider.com/110347-ny-steps-back-from-osw-halts-offshore-transmission/
OEDigital. “New York Terminates Offshore Wind Transmission Plan Due to Federal
Uncertainty.” July 17, 2025. https://www.oedigital.com/news/528082-new-york-terminates-offshore-wind-transmission-plan-due-to-federal-uncertainty
FOX45 News. “Transmission developers file second lawsuit against landowners.”
July 16, 2025. https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/pseg-transmission-developers-file-second-lawsuit-against-landowners-conduct-land-surveys-maryland
Maryland Matters. “PSEG’s second lawsuit deepens transmission fight.” July 17,
2025. https://marylandmatters.org/2025/07/17/pseg-piedmont-second-lawsuit-landowners
WBAL. “Landowners speak out against transmission line plan.” July 2025. https://www.wbaltv.com/article/landowners-concerns-state-delegate-town-hall-power-line-project/65437827
Citizen Portal. “Experts Propose New Strategies for Upgrading Aging
Transmission Lines.” July 16, 2025. https://citizenportal.ai/articles/5401849/Utah/Experts-Propose-New-Strategies-for-Upgrading-Aging-Transmission-Lines
GridLab. “Advanced Conductors: Technical and Economic Analysis.” 2024. https://gridlab.org/publications/advanced-conductors-technical-economic-analysis/
Federal Register. “Managing Transmission Line Ratings.” Jan. 13, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/13/2021-27735/managing-transmission-line-ratings
Axios Pro. “GOP seeks ‘the right kind’ of transmission to feed AI.” July 16,
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Congress.gov. “House Report on H.R. 3062.” 2025. https://www.congress.gov/committee-report/119th-congress/house-report/186/1
WFMZ. “Energy Department delays rule to end permits for cross-border
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Foley & Lardner. “DOE Rule to Eliminate Cross-Border Permits.” May 2025. https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2025/05/doe-set-to-eliminate-presidential-permit-requirement-for-cross-border-transmission-facilities-and-streamline-electricity-export-authorizations/
U.S. Department of Energy. “Presidential Permits Procedures.” 2025. https://www.energy.gov/gdo/presidential-permits-procedures