,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #caji  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #ai1 
#bjai,mr4 ,heinrich introduced the      
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,energy  
and ,natural ,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to 
require the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory
 ,commission to initiate a rulemaking to
 reform the interregional transmission  
planning process1 and for other         
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,interregional      
,transmission ,planning ,improvement    
,act of #bjai4  #b4 ,rulemaking to      
increase the effectiveness of           
interregional transmission planning  7a7
 ,in general ,not later than #f months  
after the date of enactment of this     
,act1 the ,federal ,energy ,regulatory  
,commission shall initiate a rulemaking 
to consider--  7#a7 the effectiveness of
 existing planning processes for        
identifying transmission projects across
 regions that provide economic1         

reliability1 operational1 and public    
policy benefits1 taking into            
consideration the public interest1 the  
integrity of markets1 and the protection
 of consumers2  7#b7 changes to the     
processes described in paragraph 7#a7 to
 ensure that efficient1 cost-effective1 
and broadly beneficial transmission     
solutions are selected for construction1
 taking into consideration--  7,a7 the  
public interest2  7,b7 the integrity of 
markets2  7,c7 the protection of        
consumers2  7,d7 the broad range of     
benefits that interregional transmission
 provides2  7,e7 the need for single    
projects to secure approvals based on a 
comprehensive assessment of the multiple
 benefits provided2  7,f7 that projects 
that meet interregional benefit criteria
 should not be subject to subsequent    
reassessment by regional entities2  7,g7
 the importance of synchronization of   
planning processes in neighboring       
regions1 such as using a joint model on 
a consistent timeline with a single set 

of needs1 input assumptions1 and benefit
 metrics2  7,h7 that evaluation of      
long-term scenarios should align with   
the expected life of a transmission     
asset2  7,i7 that transmission planning 
authorities should allow for the        
identification and joint evaluation of  
alternatives proposed by stakeholders2  
7,j7 that interregional planning should 
be done regularly and not less          
frequently than once every #c years2 and
  7,k7 the elimination of arbitrary     
project voltage1 size1 or cost          
requirements for interregional          
solutions2 and  7#c7 cost allocation    
methodologies that reflect the multiple 
benefits provided by interregional      
solutions4  7b7 ,timing ,not later than 
#ah months after the date of enactment  
of this ,act1 the ,federal ,energy      
,regulatory ,commission shall promulgate
 a final rule to complete the rulemaking
 initiated under subsection 7a74