WASHINGTON, D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has introduced legislation to help incentivize private investment in energy transmission and distribution assets, including power lines. The legislation, H.R. 1113, provides a 15-year depreciation period for property used in the transmission or distribution of electricity for sale. This, in turn, will allow America’s energy distribution system to compete on a level playing field with foreign companies that can currently recoup their investments at a much faster rate.

"Too many people in places like San Francisco and New York think electricity comes from a switch on the wall, and have no idea about how that power actually got there," said Rehberg a member of the House Energy and Water Appropriations Sub-committee and a sponsor of the American Energy Innovation Act. "We can invest in clean energy all day long, but if we haven’t got a way to get that energy from here to there, it’s not going to help us become energy independent. This bill incentivizes the creation of the transmission lines that will bridge that gap."

Typically, transmission and distribution assets are considered long lived assets with periods of 20 + years over which a transmission company would depreciate its original value. By shortening the period of time to depreciate these investments, this legislation will accelerate the deduction the company can take on that asset thus improving the rate of return on the asset, improving the bottom line and improving cash flow.

"We really appreciate Congressman Rehberg’s work on this and his leadership in energy policy," Dave Gates, Vice President Wholesale Operations North Western Energy. "This bill will provide an incentive to develop transmission and distribution investment to enable the private sector to develop energy from renewable energy rich areas of the country, such as Montana, and to assist the country reach its energy independence goals."