Line Siting – the Case for Local Control

Though it has not yet made headlines, the federal government is on the verge of one of its biggest power grabs to date. Currently, the United States Senate is considering a provision, tucked away in the behemoth Energy bill, that would strip states like Arizona of the right to control where large electric power lines are placed.

Known as “line siting”, this power currently rests with a local committee comprised of officials who carefully examine requests by power companies to build power lines, taking into account such important factors as the environmental impact and whether nearby homeowners would be adversely affected. The decisions of this committee are subject to final review by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

But if the Energy Bill goes forward in its current form, decisions about line siting in Arizona could wind up in the hands of federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Under the bill, a state line siting commission could be overruled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), should this agency determine that their state counterparts have unduly resisted the building of power lines.

Moreover, under the Energy bill, private utilities could implement power lines by exercising eminent domain. Under this provision, a power company could declare eminent domain by gaining the approval of a single federal or state judge.

These measures are aimed at solving a problem – on the East Coast – where much of the land is in private hands, creating a patchwork of ownership that can gum up line siting efforts for years. But in Arizona, where much of our land is under federal or state control, no such problem exists. The Arizona Corporation Commission and much of the state’s Congressional delegation, have urged that these provisions be taken out of the Energy Bill. No doubt the architects of this federal power play believe they are resolving a serious problem with the development of power transmission in the East. But in so doing they are riding roughshod over a system that works – and doesn’t need fixing – in the West.