Commissioner James Danly Statement
November 18, 2021
Docket Nos. ER17-998-001, et al.
I concur with the Commission’s application of its revised Return on Equity (ROE) methodology, announced in Opinion No. 569, as modified by Opinion Nos. 569-A and 569-B,[1] to DATC Path 15, and the consequent reduction of DATC Path 15’s ROE from 13.5% to 10.86%.[2] I agree that 10.86% is within the zone of reasonableness. I further agree that 10.86% appears to be a plausible outcome under our revised ROE methodology and is thus consistent with precedent.
I write separately to state that our revised ROE methodology, like its predecessors, is too complicated and threatens to cause great uncertainty going forward. The inevitable consequence will be the chilling of investment in transmission development. I would likely not have voted in favor of our revised ROE methodology had it come before me in the first instance, but I also have not seen the kind of evidence that would be necessary to justify jettisoning it for yet another revised methodology.
For these reasons, I respectfully concur.
[1] See Ass’n of Bus. Advocating Tariff Equity v. Midcontinent Indep. Sys. Operator, Inc., Opinion No. 569, 169 FERC ¶ 61,129 (2019), order on reh’g, Opinion No. 569-A, 171 FERC ¶ 61,154 (2020), order on reh’g, Opinion No. 569-B, 173 FERC ¶ 61,159 (2020).
[2] DATC Path 15, LLC, 177 FERC ¶ 61,115 (2021).