Pursuant to Section 1222 of EPAct (42 U.S.C. 16421), the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) or the Western Area Power Administration (Western), has the authority to design, develop, construct, operate, own, or participate with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, operating, maintaining, or owning two types of projects: (1) Electric power transmission facilities and related facilities needed to upgrade existing transmission facilities owned by Southwestern or Western (42 U.S.C 16421(a)), or (2) New electric power transmission facilities and related facilities located within any State in which Southwestern or Western operates (42 U.S.C. 16421(b)). In carrying out either type of Project, the Secretary may accept and use funds contributed by another entity for the purpose of executing the Project (42 U.S.C 16421 (c)).
Proposals Delegated for Review in the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
On June 10, 2010, the Department of Energy published in the Federal Register a Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. In response, Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC submitted an application for its Plains & Eastern Clean Line project. On March 25, 2016, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) will participate in the development of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line project (Project), a major clean energy infrastructure project. Through section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress authorized DOE to promote electric transmission development. The four documents below, the Record of Decision, Participation Agreement, Summary of Findings and Secretarial Determination all make up the basis of that decision and are available for download here.