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An Act To Amend the Requirements for Electric Transmission Lines
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3132, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2009, c. 615, Pt. A, §1 and c. 655, Pt. A, §4, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
 
6.  Commission order; certificate of public convenience and necessity.     In its order, the commission shall make specific findings with regard to the public need for the proposed transmission line. Except as provided in subsection 6-A for a high-impact electric transmission line, if the commission finds that a public need exists, it shall issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the transmission line. In determining public need, the commission shall, at a minimum, take into account economics, reliability, public health and safety, scenic, historic and recreational values, state renewable energy generation goals, the proximity of the proposed transmission line to inhabited dwellings and alternatives to construction of the transmission line, including energy conservation, distributed generation or load management. If the commission orders or allows the erection of the transmission line, the order is subject to all other provisions of law and the right of any other agency to approve the transmission line. The commission shall, as necessary and in accordance with subsections 7 and 8, consider the findings of the Department of Environmental Protection under Title 38, chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 6, with respect to the proposed transmission line and any modifications ordered by the Department of Environmental Protection to lessen the impact of the proposed transmission line on the environment. A person may submit a petition for and obtain approval of a proposed transmission line under this section before applying for approval under municipal ordinances adopted pursuant to Title 30-A, Part 2, Subpart 6-A; and Title 38, section 438-A and, except as provided in subsection 4, before identifying a specific route or route options for the proposed transmission line. Except as provided in subsection 4, the commission may not consider the petition insufficient for failure to provide identification of a route or route options for the proposed transmission line. The issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity establishes that, as of the date of issuance of the certificate, the decision by the person to erect or construct was prudent. At the time of its issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity, the commission shall send to each municipality through which a proposed corridor or corridors for a transmission line extends a separate notice that the issuance of the certificate does not override, supersede or otherwise affect municipal authority to regulate the siting of the proposed transmission line. The commission may deny a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a transmission line upon a finding that the transmission line is reasonably likely to adversely affect any transmission and distribution utility or its customers.
 
The commission may not issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a transmission line pursuant to this subsection unless it finds that the construction and operation of the proposed transmission line either reduces costs for consumers or is necessary to meet the reliability requirements imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its designated electric reliability organization.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the statute governing the issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity for transmission lines. This bill provides that the Public Utilities Commission may not approve a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a transmission line unless it finds that the construction and operation of the proposed transmission line either reduces costs for consumers or is necessary to meet the reliability requirements imposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or its designated electric reliability organization.
The bill also corrects a conflict that was created by Public Law 2009, chapter 615 and chapter 655 by incorporating the changes made by both chaptered laws.