HR7405-119

What This Bill Does

The Rail and Highway Transmission Planning Act states that highway and rail rights-of-way should serve the public interest by accommodating new electric transmission infrastructure. It directs the Energy Secretary, in consultation with DOT, FERC, and relevant National Laboratories, to study the benefits and challenges of constructing high-voltage transmission on rail and highway rights-of-way. The study must review existing projects, identify best practices for planning, permitting, financing, and development, generate or consolidate rights-of-way data, identify suitable corridors, compare high-voltage AC and DC configurations, assess safety, engineering, property-rights, environmental, railroad operations, community, electromagnetic interference, maintenance, and expansion issues, identify funding and financing mechanisms, analyze grid reliability, interconnection, capacity, consumer-cost, and transportation safety effects, publish study elements as completed, consult utilities and railroads, and develop an interagency action plan and resources for agencies and stakeholders.

Who Benefits and How

Electric utilities, transmission developers, energy consumers, railroads, state DOTs, local governments, and grid planners benefit from federal data on whether existing transportation corridors can reduce land-acquisition and permitting barriers for new transmission. DOE, DOT, FERC, and National Laboratories gain a structured study to evaluate reliability, congestion, and cost benefits. Property owners near rights-of-way may benefit from reduced need for entirely new corridors.

Who Bears the Burden and How

DOE must run the study, coordinate with DOT, FERC, National Laboratories, utilities, railroads, and other stakeholders, publish data, and produce an action plan. Railroads, highway agencies, utilities, and local governments must engage with technical feasibility, safety, operations, property, and environmental questions. Communities near rights-of-way may face construction or electromagnetic-interference concerns if future transmission projects move forward.

Key Provisions

• Directs DOE to study high-voltage transmission development on rail and highway rights-of-way with DOT, FERC, and National Laboratory consultation.
• Requires review of existing projects, best practices, rights-of-way data, corridor suitability, transmission configurations, costs, benefits, and financing opportunities.
• Requires analysis of grid reliability, interconnection queues, transmission capacity, consumer costs, environmental effects, railroad operations, community impacts, and transportation safety.
• Requires published study elements, stakeholder consultation, resources for agencies and utilities, and an interagency action plan.