Members Request DOE to Explain Process for Finalizing the Draft National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors

Chairmen Waxman and Kucinich, along with Ranking Minority Member Davis, wrote to Energy Secretary Bodman requesting answers to questions regarding the Department of Energy’s process for finalizing two draft transmission corridors pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The corridors were proposed in May 2007 and finalized earlier this month. Stakeholders in the Mid-Atlantic region have reported that DOE refused to consider new data in finalizing the proposed corridor in the eastern United States. However, DOE has stated that it relied upon new information in removing Clark County, Nevada, from the finalized Southwest Area National Corridor. The Oversight Committee has requested that DOE provide an explanation for these decisions and documents regarding its decision to remove Clark County from the corridor.