The Winchester Star, November 14, 2008

by Drew Houff

Winchester — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission gave final regulatory approval Thursday to a 500-kilovolt power line that would travel through Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Northern Virginia.

The $1.3 billion 215-mile line has now been approved by officials in the three states, giving it full legal permission for construction.

The electrical transmission line was proposed to help avoid future outages caused by an overloaded power grid in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Pennsylvania commission approved a 1.2-mile portion of the line from the new 502 Junction electrical substation in Greene County to the West Virginia border.

This portion marks the beginning of Allegheny Energy Inc. subsidiary’s Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co. (TrAILCo) line. From Pennsylvania, it would move through West Virginia and enter Virginia in Frederick County.

“We commend the Pennsylvania Commission for its decision,” said Paul J. Evanson, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Allegheny Energy, through a press release from the Pennsylvania-based company that provides electrical service to the Winchester area.

“The construction of this line is essential to ensure the reliable flow of electricity throughout the region. We will work diligently to complete the project on budget and on schedule,” he said.

Allegheny and its partner in the line, Richmond-based Dominion Virginia Power, hope to finish the line in about 21/2 years.

Construction will not be affected by another 36-mile portion of the line in Pennsylvania that has been put on hold. That section is being treated as a separate project that would serve local needs in Washington County.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission in October and the West Virginia Public Service Commission in August authorized the construction of the TrAILCo line on their states, pending approval in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania PUC will issue its final order later, but its decision was announced Thursday.

TrAILCo, according to a press release from Allegheny Energy, will continue its pre-construction activities — such as right of way acquisition, permitting, and engineering studies — in the three states.

Construction of the transmission line is expected to take about 30 months, with the TrAILCo project targeted for completion by June 2011.

Despite the regulatory approval, the line still faces opposition.

Robert Lazaro, director of communications for the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environmental Council, said in a telephone interview Thursday that his group filed a notice of appeal Nov. 5 with the Virginia Supreme Court.

The court has not decided if it will consider the appeal to block the TrAILCo project.

Lazaro said he is hopeful that a group similar to the PEC will file appeal papers in Pennsylvania.

“It’s just so apparently political [in Pennsylvania],” he said. “The experts [in that state] saw no need for the line, the judges saw the line was not necessary, and the Office of Consumer Affairs also was against the line.

“I certainly hope they will [oppose the line in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court]. It just seems arbitrary and capricious to ignore all of this data and their own experts,” Lazaro said.

He said the PEC will continue its opposition efforts in the Virginia Supreme Court — regardless of any action taken in Pennsylvania. “We know what we need to do. You don’t go to the championship game to fail.”

The PEC is among several groups that opposed the line, saying it is not needed despite the utilities’ claims that the electricity supply will be insufficient for the fast-growing Northern Virginia area within the next three years.

The opponents contend that other solutions are available, such as conserving power and installing the transmission line underground.

The 93-mile portion of the above-ground TrAILCo line in Virginia would begin in Frederick County at the West Virginia line, connecting to the Meadow Brook substation near Middletown.

It would leave Frederick County, pass through Warren County into Fauquier County, and continue to its final destination in Loudoun County.

Allegheny would be responsible for the portion of the Virginia line into Warren County, while the remainder that runs into Northern Virginia would be under the supervision of Dominion.