§ 8-1-38-9 — Construction, ownership, operation, maintenance, and upgrade of electric transmission facilities; right of first refusal

(a) An incumbent electric transmission owner
has the right to construct, own, operate, and maintain the following:
(1) An electric transmission facility that has been approved for
construction through a regional transmission organization
planning process and that connects to an electric transmission
facility owned by the incumbent electric transmission owner.
(2) Upgrades to an existing electric transmission facility owned
by the incumbent electric transmission owner if the upgrades have
been approved for construction through a regional transmission
organization planning process.
(b) The right to construct, own, operate, and maintain an electric
transmission facility that connects to electric transmission facilities
owned by two (2) or more incumbent electric transmission owners
belongs individually and proportionately to each incumbent electric
transmission owner, unless the incumbent electric transmission owners
otherwise agree in writing.
(c) If an electric transmission facility has been approved for
construction through a regional transmission organization planning
process, as described in subsection (a)(1), each incumbent electric
transmission owner that has a right under subsection (b) to construct,
own, operate, and maintain the electric transmission facility to be
constructed shall give written notice to the commission, not later than
ninety (90) days after the date of approval of the construction,
regarding the incumbent electric transmission owner's intent to
construct, own, operate, and maintain the approved electric
transmission facility. If an incumbent electric transmission owner gives
notice of the incumbent electric transmission owner's intent not to
construct the approved electric transmission facility, another entity may
seek to construct the approved electric transmission facility in
accordance with the regional transmission organization planning
process and this chapter.
(d) If an incumbent electric transmission owner gives to the
commission during a calendar year a notice of intent under subsection
(c) to construct, own, operate, and maintain an electric transmission
facility approved for construction through a regional transmission
organization planning process, the incumbent electric transmission
owner shall, not later than May 1 of the subsequent calendar year,
provide the commission with the following information, in the form
and manner prescribed by the commission:
(1) A list of the electric transmission facilities with respect to
which the incumbent electric transmission owner provided the
commission a notice of intent under subsection (c) in the
preceding calendar year. The list provided under this subdivision
must include:
(A) a brief description of the construction;
(B) the reason for the construction; and
(C) an estimate of the total cost of the construction.
(2) A written or electronic copy of the Annual Formula Rate
Update Informational Filing most recently filed by the incumbent
electric transmission owner with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
(e) An incumbent electric transmission owner that exercises its right
under subsection (a)(1) to construct an electric transmission facility
approved for construction through a regional transmission organization
planning process must, to the extent commercially practicable, use
competitively bid engineering, procurement, or construction contracts,
as applicable, that meet all the technical, commercial, and other
specifications, such as safety performance, required by the incumbent
electric transmission owner with respect to the electric transmission
facility.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.174-2013, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.145-2023, SEC.3.