FERC OKS GREEN POWER EXPRESS MONEY PLAN

FERC OKs Green Power Request For Favorable Transmission Incentives
Christine Buurma, April 13, 2009 (Dow Jones Newswire via Wall Street Journal)

"…[R]egulators have approved [Green Power Express LP 's] request for investment incentives for a proposed multi-state electric transmission project that would delivery wind energy to the U.S. Midwest and East.

"The decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is a win for transmission developers, who have argued that although more lines are needed to deliver electricity from remote wind farms to population centers across the U.S., developing such lines is costly and fraught with regulatory obstacles. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has proposed legislation that would give the U.S. government broad new powers to determine where to build transmission lines that link renewable energy to the electric system."

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"Green Power Express, a limited partnership formed by… ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC), is a $10 billion-$12 billion project that would transport 12,000 megawatts of power from Upper Midwest wind farms to more populated areas of the Midwest and East. FERC's decision allows Green Power Express to earn a return on equity of 12.38% for the project and recover certain costs by charging ratepayers…

"ITC must now seek a cost allocation mechanism from the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, a regional entity that oversees the reliability of the electric grid."