The rule requires public utility transmission providers to participate in a regional transmission planning process and coordinate to determine if there are more efficient or cost-effective solutions to their mutual transmission needs.
Turning to China's bird flu outbreak, the government says there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus but does not rule out a further spread of outbreaks.
The rule also established reforms for cost allocation, most notably that costs allocated to a transmission facility must be roughly commensurate with estimated benefits.
The Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission (FERC) passed a rule last week, Order No. 1000, that aims to facilitate the building of transmission infrastructure, the wires that bring us electricity from the power plant or other generation device.