ROFR protects Iowa energy consumers

There’s been much discussion on the merits of Right of First Refusal (ROFR). The proposed legislation, Senate File 585 and House File 834, allows future large-scale electric transmission projects to be owned, constructed and maintained by Iowa utilities.

As a former Chairman of the Iowa Utilities Board (now Comission), I would like to address some of the arguments for ROFR.

First of all, no one should be supporting a process that bids out and awards projects without first knowing what is being built or where, but the federal process without ROFR does exactly that. The outcome can be poorly designed transmission lines that harm landowners and consumers who are severely impacted by a weak bidding process.

There are also concerns that the federal process only has minimal standards for construction that fall short of the standards currently used to construct lines in Iowa. Iowans deserve quality construction of the electric grid — which reduces future maintenance and outages. With ROFR, Iowans continue to set their own standards.

ROFR legislation requires competitive bidding for construction, but not until the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) approves what will be built and where. In addition, both the IUC and Office of Consumer Advocate would have the authority to review the bidding process. Iowa should be in control of decisions that protect energy consumers and landowners.

I encourage our legislators to pass ROFR. Without it, Iowa will truly understand the meaning of “penny wise, but pound-foolish.”

Allan Thoms

Cedar Rapids