Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

“is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. . . “   ferc.gov     Although it was put in place by Congress, its operations are largely autonomous and paid for entirely by annual charges and filing fees levied on the industries it regulates. FERC is the agency that establishes the very profitable guaranteed rates-of-return for utility capital investments, thereby creating strong profit incentives and effectively protecting transmission companies and their shareholders from financial risk.

https://www.ferc.gov/about/strat-docs/2016/FY16-final.pdf

https://www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/trans-invest.asp