SPP's interconnection queue holds 151 GW across 688 active projects today. Lengthy study periods mean projects wait four years before receiving an interconnection agreement. On March 13, 2026, FERC unanimously approved SPP's reformed CPP queue design to help accelerate this process.

The Consolidated Planning Process (CPP) merges SPP's previously separate transmission planning and generator interconnection workflows into a single assessment.

SPP will identify where generators are needed most on the network, then invite market participants to submit connection requests for these locations - flipping the traditional connection process.

For developers stuck in the old queue, this is a second chance at a faster timeline.

Key takeaways

• CPP targets interconnection agreements in 10 months, down from a median of 51 months under the old process.
• Planned Interconnection Locations (PILs) will give developers pre-screened grid connection points. At a PIL, the only interconnection cost will be a standardized, up-front GRID-C fee - avoiding unexpected future network upgrade charges. SPP expects to identify hundreds of PILs across its footprint.
• ​GRID-C contributions may be significantly higher than historical interconnection costs in SPP. Developers pay a known amount upfront rather than an unknown amount years later.
• The first transitional CPP cluster study window is open for applications from April 1, 2026 to May 31st 2026. Final agreements from this first cycle are expected by early 2027.

CPP introduces PILs and GRID-C to replace connection cost uncertainty

Under the old system, developers proposed a Point of Interconnection and waited years to learn their network upgrade costs. Those costs arrived late, varied wildly, and triggered cascading restudies when projects dropped out.

The CPP replaces this with two mechanisms.