HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Two proposals for major mid-Atlantic power transmission lines received critical endorsements yesterday from the company that operates the mid-Atlantic electricity grid.
The proposed high-voltage lines, which would cost more than $2.7 billion, are aimed at bringing surplus electricity from coal-fired power plants in Appalachia and the Midwest to big East Coast cities where power is more expensive. They are designed to relieve the strain on existing lines that officials say could overload as early as 2012.
Many residents already have expressed opposition to the lines, which would run from West Virginia to Maryland and from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Both lines would cross scenic areas — which are heavy tourist draws — from the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to West Virginia’s Allegheny Highlands.
Yesterday’s positive votes by the board of PJM Interconnection mean the companies proposing the high-voltage transmission lines are likely to begin environmental and siting studies as a prelude to filing plans with state regulators.
Norristown, Pa., company PJM has no regulatory authority over the power lines, but it manages the transmission network that serves more than 50 million people in 13 Eastern states and the District. Its opinion carries weight with state utility regulators.
State regulators typically have approval authority over power lines, although recent changes in law may allow federal authorities to override them.
One power line would run about 300 miles from American Electric Power Co.’s John Amos coal-fired power plant near St. Albans, W.Va., to a substation to be built near Damascus. It would be built by AEP of Columbus, Ohio, and Allegheny Energy Inc. of Greensburg, Pa.
The second line would run about 130 miles from PPL’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant near Berwick in northeastern Pennsylvania to the Roseland substation near Newark in northern New Jersey. It would be built by PPL of Allentown, Pa., FirstEnergy of Akron, Ohio, and Public Service Electric and Gas of Newark, N.J.
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