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Minutes for SB166 - Committee on Utilities
Short Title
Requiring public disclosure of an application for a transmission line siting permit under the jurisdiction of the state corporation commission.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 15, 2023
The Chairman opened the hearing on SB166 and called for a revisor overview of the bill.
The Chairman called for proponent testimony on the bill.
John Donley stated that the Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) considers that a great deal of the burden falls upon the rural landowner and desires to make sure this group has a fair and strong voice in the early phases of a proposed electric transmission projects crossing hundreds of private properties. Mr. Donley said that concern was raised when it was discovered that normal requirements to disclose landowners within 660 feet of the proposed center line were redacted by the "world's largest utility" on the public disclosure mechanism. He concluded by indicating that the KFB is here to make sure that landowners and their neighbors are made aware of such intentions as early as possible.
Jackie Garagiola indicated that the Kansas Livestock is here to guarantee the property rights and government transparency of the the individual landowners who have a heavy burden regarding a proposed electric transmission line application proposals.
Virginia Macha a life-time resident of southeast Kansas indicated that she was summoned by a young landowner who has been pitted against the largest utility in the nation and the KCC regarding a transmission line that would be built diagonally across the region. Ms. Macha implored the committee to consider this bill that is intended to "tighten down the requirements of transparency" for all Kansans. She related another concern that an out-of-state free agent is taking private land and proposing to charge all ratepayers for the transmission of a line intended to transfer energy to users in another state. Ms. Macha also expressed concern regarding denials to allow large energy consumers to testify on the need for the line during a quest for a developer certificate of convenience, but at the same time demanding an expedited and a minimally transparent process to proceed.
Rochelle McGhee Smart supports this bill to increase the transparency process. Ms. Smart claimed that the KCC has ignored requirements that exist today and expressed concern that the agency may not abide by any new requirements proposed in the bill. She alleged that NextEra had illegally entered onto lands to conduct studies and into property options before actually obtaining a required permits to do so. Ms. Smart also alleged other specific examples of predatory and deceptive tactics with unsuspecting landowners. She claimed that her complaints were ignored by the regulatory agencies involved in the arrangements with the NextEra project.
Committee questions and comments ensued regarding the notification requirements currently required by statute and whether the statutes included a wide enough range of line capacity to trigger those requirements.
Written-Only Proponent Testimony:
Brian Regher, self (not able to attend the meeting).
The Chairman called for opponent and neutral testimony on the bill.
Alan Anderson representing NextEra Transmission Southwest (NEET Southwest) expressed concern regarding what he termed "uninformed claims that the process is some how inadequate or flawed."
Committee questions and comments ensued.
Seeing no addition testimony, the Chairman closed the hearing on the bill and announced that he planned to work both SB49 and SB166.
