According to Utility Dive, Southwest Power Pool has proposed merging its transmission planning and interconnection processes to tackle a massive 130 GW interconnection queue and 11% peak demand growth over just four years. The Coordinated Planning Process would proactively build optimal transmission upgrades and share costs between generators and load through a new GRID-C rate framework. SPP says this “landmark change” faced no opposition in stakeholder processes, which is nearly unprecedented for such a fundamental shift. Separately, SPP asked FERC to approve creating five subregions where 67% of costs for 100-300 kV upgrades would be allocated locally rather than zone-wide. The proposal comes after SPP began considering broad transmission planning changes back in 2020.
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Why this is actually a big deal
Here’s the thing about interconnection queues right now – they’re basically broken. Developers are stuck in this endless cycle of uncertainty where they don’t know how much they’ll have to pay for grid upgrades until it’s too late. And SPP’s situation is particularly wild – 130 gigawatts waiting in line while demand keeps climbing 11% in just four years? That’s unsustainable.
What SPP’s proposing is essentially tearing down the wall between transmission planning and interconnection. Instead of reacting to each new project request individually, they’d proactively figure out what transmission needs to be built and spread those costs more predictably. The GRID-C framework means developers would pay a per-megawatt charge that reflects their actual share of system costs. No more guessing games.
Who wins and who might complain
For renewable developers, this could be huge. The biggest headache in building new projects isn’t the solar panels or wind turbines – it’s the interconnection process and those unpredictable network upgrade costs. If SPP can create more certainty, we might actually see some of that 130 GW queue turn into real projects.
But here’s the tricky part – the cost allocation changes. SPP’s also asking FERC to let them create five subregions where 67% of costs for certain upgrades stay local. That means if you’re in a region that needs lots of transmission work, your customers might see bigger bills. But honestly? That’s probably fair – the current system where costs get spread everywhere sometimes means regions that benefit most from upgrades don’t pay their full share.
The fact that this proposal went through SPP’s diverse stakeholder process without opposition is telling. Basically everyone – utilities, developers, consumer advocates – seems to agree the current system isn’t working. When was the last time you saw grid stakeholders agree on anything this big?
The regulatory hurdle ahead
Now it’s up to FERC. SPP has filed two separate but related proposals – the main CPP filing and the subregional cost allocation changes. FERC has been pushing grid operators to fix interconnection for years, so I’d be surprised if they don’t look favorably on this.
If this gets approved, watch for other regions to follow suit. MISO, PJM, CAISO – they’re all dealing with the same interconnection nightmares. SPP might just have created the blueprint for finally untangling America’s grid connection crisis. The question is whether FERC moves quickly enough, because that 130 GW queue isn’t getting any smaller while we wait.
