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About the Series: ESIG has just completed a broad stakeholder review of the transmission implications of moving towards very high levels of decarbonization and renewable energy at a national level. The issues associated with a large transmission network spanning the continent can be generally grouped into the areas of transmission planning, permitting and paying, covered in this extended 3-part webinar. The first webinar on planning will be presented by Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies. Rob is a well-known figure nationally in this area, and will cover the drivers for a broad, geographical approach to planning. The topic of permitting will be presented by Bret Sumner, a practicing lawyer well versed in the practical aspects of project permitting on public and private lands. The third topic to be addressed, paying, or cost allocation, will be covered by Steve Gaw, Senior Vice President of Markets and Infrastructure for the Advanced Power Alliance. 

Part 3: Paying

Featured Speaker: Steve Gaw, Senior Vice President of Markets & Infrastructure, Advanced Power Alliance

Steve Gaw, an attorney, former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, and former Chair of the Missouri Public Service Commission, is the Senior Vice President of Markets and Infrastructure for the Advanced Power Alliance and also acts as an advisor to the American Clean Power Association. His primary focus is on RTO policy issues within the Southwest Power Pool region and matters of national interest that impact the advancement of wind energy. He was one of the founding directors and past President of the Organization of MISO States (OMS) and a founding director of the SPP Regional State Committee. Steve was the representative for the renewable generators on the Steering Committee of the Eastern Interconnect Planning Corroborative. He has been a speaker and moderator in regional, national and international forums on energy policy dealing with both electricity and natural gas.

Moderator: Charlie Smith, Executive Director, ESIG

Registration Cost: FREE

Q&A Session: We will be using the slido platform for Q&A. Please submit your questions and follow-along during the event at this link.

Webinar Abstract: Building needed infrastructure is more than just planning. Before it can be built there must also be a mechanism to pay for it. In fact, transmission planning and cost allocation have proven to be nearly inseverable when addressing infrastructure needs. Over the last two decades we have gone from having stagnant infrastructure development in the Midwest, to significant investment, to another slow down. We know what has worked and what has not. But will the cost allocation solutions of the past help solve today’s infrastructure slow down and the needs of tomorrow, especially in the midst of one of the biggest periods of change in the electric industry’s history? What are the challenges we face looking forward? And what are potential solutions that will move us to optimal solutions for the grid and fairness in the way we pay for them?