Transmission Project Development Timelines in California

Overview

The Public Advocates Office analyzed the development timelines of recently approved and completed transmission projects to better understand development bottlenecks. Based on this sample, the average project took over a decade to be built and a comparatively short period was spent on physical construction. The majority of the project development time was attributable to planning and review, by both oversight agencies and project developers. For example, project developers spent a notable amount of time outside of official regulatory review processes to conduct detailed engineering, business development, and environmental analyses. These activities are necessary to complete project application for the California Public Utilities Commission-led economic and environmental reviews.

Download: Transmission Project Development Timelines in California