House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie will warn warn against efforts to give the federal government more power to approve, plan and coordinate transmission lines, by arguing states are better situated to make those decisions.
The committee is holding a hearing Wednesday on ways to boost transmission — a signal of bipartisan interest in a key element of permitting reform talks. That doesn’t mean Democrats and Republicans are near agreement.
The purpose of the hearing is to “examine the longstanding role of states in the permitting process and how best to ensure transmission permitting and construction is efficient and predictable, and provides for affordable, reliable power,” Guthrie (R-Ky.) will say in his opening remarks as prepared for delivery, which his office shared with POLITICO.
“As a practical matter, this enables consideration of what works best for communities and states and what is most affordable for ratepayers in those areas,” Guthrie will say.
