Bill
A 10830
The bill creates a prioritized, coordinated process to site new electric transmission facilities, prioritizing existing corridors and highway rights-of-way to minimize new environm
Jurisdiction: New York
Title: Relates to the siting of new electric transmission facilities
Introduced: April 1, 2026
Primary sponsors: M. of A. McMahon, McDonald; Co-sponsors: Sarahana Shrestha, Karen McMahon, John McDonald
Purpose and overall aim
- The bill amends the public service law and the highway law to establish a structured, prioritized process for siting new electric transmission facilities (including high-voltage lines) in New York.
- Its central intent is to coordinate highway-right-of-way planning with utility-scale transmission planning, promote reuse of existing corridors, and create formal procedures to assess and approve co-location of transmission lines with transportation corridors, while protecting public safety and the environment.
Key provisions and changes
1) Prioritized siting corridors (Public Service Law, new §141(7))
- Establishes a priority order for siting new transmission corridors:
- (i) Existing utility corridors
- (ii) Highway and railroad corridors (interstate, freeway, state trunk, and rail; reflects a preference for already-acquired or engineered paths)
- (iii) Recreational trails, with the caveat that lines may be constructed underground where feasible and where there is no significant impact on environmentally sensitive areas
- (iv) New corridors
- This ranking aims to minimize new environmental disruption and optimize use of established infrastructure.
2) Right-of-way and corridor coordination (Public Service Law, new §141(7)(b))
- Transmission lines may be constructed across public rights-of-way or along trunk highways and related facilities, subject to transportation safety requirements.
- If the New York Secretary/Commissioner of Transportation denies a high-voltage line collocation request, the reasons must be submitted for review within 90 days to:
- Chairs and ranking minority members of energy and transportation committees
- Executive secretary of the Public Utilities Commission
- Commissioner of Economic Development
3) Department of Transportation coordination and constructability planning
- Section 2 (new §40) adds two coordination mechanisms:
- §2(2): On written request, the commissioner must engage in coordination with a utility or transmission line developer to review highway corridors for possible permitted locations of transmission lines. A project coordinator will be assigned within 30 days; DOT must share known plans with utilities for potential future projects.
- §2(3): After a permissible highway corridor is identified, the department and the utility/developer must develop a "constructability report" to be used for co-location projects. The report requires mutual agreement before the department issues a right-of-way permit.
4) Constructability report specifics and relocation terms
- The constructability report (produced by the utility in consultation with DOT) must outline terms and conditions for building the co-location project, including a mutually agreed timeframe during which no relocation requests will be made.
- If the DOT requires relocation sooner than agreed or provides less than a ten-year notice, the DOT bears 75% of relocation costs.
- A ten-year advance notice is required before any relocation, with the agency bearing the 75% share if relocation occurs outside the agreed timeframe.
5) Effective date and transitional provisions
- The act takes effect 90 days after becoming law.
- The amendments in §141 to the public service law are subject to repeal timing related to the act’s own repeal language.
Who and what would be affected
- State agencies: New procedural requirements for the Department of Transportation and the Public Service Commission (and related economic development authority coordination).
- Utilities and transmission line developers: New coordination duties, constructability reporting obligations, and negotiated terms for co-location within highway corridors.
- Transportation infrastructure projects: Potential adjustments to corridor planning to favor existing rights-of-way and managed co-location strategies.
- Public and environmental interests: The corridor prioritization emphasizes protections for the environment (especially when pursuing underground solutions and avoiding new environmentally sensitive impacts), with procedural oversight for denials of collocation requests.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- Coordinated review timeline: Denial of a collocation request triggers a 90-day review by specified legislative and regulatory stakeholders.
- Constructability process: A formal constructability report must be developed and approved by both the utility and DOT before permitting, including a relocation timeline and cost-sharing terms.
- Implementation timeline: The act becomes effective 90 days after enactment; existing processes and repeal mechanics apply per the bill’s transitional provisions.
Overall impact
- The bill formalizes a preference-based framework to site new transmission facilities, prioritizes reuse of existing corridors, and strengthens coordination between transportation and energy planners.
- It creates structured avenues to address co-location projects and relocation costs, potentially reducing siting disputes and facilitating more predictable timelines for transmission projects.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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