FERC-730, Report of Transmission Investment Activity

The information collected in the FERC-730 is necessary for the Commission to evaluate its incentive rates policies, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of these policies. The FERC-730 filing requirement allows the Commission to track the progress of electric transmission projects that have been granted incentive-based rates, providing an accurate assessment of the state of the industry with respect to transmission investment, and ensuring that incentive rates are effective in encouraging the development of appropriate transmission infrastructure. To promote the development of needed energy infrastructure, Congress enacted section 1241 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which added a new section 219 to the Federal Power Act (FPA). Section 219 of the FPA required that the Commission issue a rule allowing incentive-based rate treatments to promote capital investment in the enlargement, improvement, maintenance, and operation of transmission facilities. To comply with these FPA requirements, the Commission issued Order No. 679 in 2006. Order 679 allowed public utilities participating in interstate commerce to apply for certain incentives, including: (1) a rate of return on equity sufficient to attract new investment in transmission facilities, (2) 100% of prudently incurred Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) in rate base, (3) recovery of prudently incurred pre-commercial operations costs, (4) accelerated depreciation, (5) hypothetical capital structure, and (6) recovery of 100% of prudently incurred costs of transmission facilities that are cancelled or abandoned due to factors beyond the control of the public utility. The Commission's incentive rates policies under Order No. 679 aim to ensure reliability and reduce the cost of delivered power by decreasing transmission congestion. The Commission created FERC-730 to better inform its incentive rate policies, ensuring that they encourage appropriate infrastructure development and meet the requirements of FPA section 219. FERC-730 is an annual filing requirement for utilities that have been granted incentive-based rates. Utilities must file the following information in FERC-730: actual monetary investment for the most recent calendar year; planned investments for the next five years; and a project-by-project listing that includes each project planned for investment over the next five years and specifies expected completion date, percentage completion as of the filing date, and any reasons for delay. The filing requirements of FERC-730 are codified under 18 CFR §35.35(h).

The latest form for FERC-730, Report of Transmission Investment Activity expires 2023-03-31 and can be found here.