Trade Groups, Lawmakers Oppose Proposal to Sell Federal Transmission Assets

On June 6, the Association and the NRECA sent a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry expressing strong opposition to the proposal in President Trump’s FY 2018 budget request to sell the transmission assets of three PMAs.

"Given the long and productive history between the PMAs and their customers, we were very disappointed to see the administration’s FY 2018 budget request proposal to divest the transmission assets," wrote APPA and NRECA. "We strongly disagree with the rationale provided in the proposal that ‘ownership of transmission is best carried out by the private sector where there are appropriate market and regulatory incentives’ and that increasing ‘the private sector’s role would encourage a more efficient allocation of economic resources and mitigate risk to taxpayers.’" 

They noted that PMA costs "are paid by customers and not the federal government; none of the costs are borne by taxpayers."

Lawmakers from the Senate and House are also voicing opposition to the transmission asset sale proposal.

On June 7, a bipartisan group of 21 senators sent a letter to Perry expressing opposition to the proposal. "This is not the first time this short-sighted proposal has come up and, as usual, it is being opposed on a bipartisan basis," the senators said.

The PMAs are "one of the few federal programs that not only fully pays its way, but actually provides benefits to the federal government’s balance sheet," said the group of senators.

In a June 5 letter to Perry and Mick Mulvaney, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, more than a dozen members of Congress from the Pacific Northwest also voiced their concern with the proposal to sell the transmission assets.

"We believe divesting BPA's transmission assets will harm individuals and businesses, divert capital needed for further infrastructure investment in the Northwest, and undermine regional utility coordination," they wrote.