PATH Seeks to Withdraw From Power Line Project
Reduced electric demand results in suspension of project.
The State Journal
28 February 2011
By Pam Kasey
American Electric Power and FirstEnergy Corp. announced Feb. 28 that
they are withdrawing permit applications to build a 765-kilovolt
transmission line stretching from Putnam County across West Virginia
and Virginia into Maryland.
The announcement came just hours after regional grid manager PJM
Interconnection announced plans to suspend the project while it
conducts a more rigorous analysis of the need for the line as part of
its regional transmission expansion plan.
PJM cited reduced electric demand as the reason for suspending the
project.
The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, was a joint
venture between Allegheny Energy and AEP to build a 275-mile
transmission line. Last week, Allegheny merged with Akron, Ohio-based
FirstEnergy.
According to a news release from PATH, the two utility companies filed
petitions to withdraw the project in Virginia, Maryland and West
Virginia, the three states impacted by the line.
The release said PJM directed the construction of PATH in 2007 to
resolve violations of national and local standards for reliable
operation of the region’s transmission system. Since then, annual
studies reaffirmed the need for PATH as the recommended solution for
resolving these issues, according to the release. However, PJM’s latest
analyses indicate the need for the project has moved well into the
future.
“While we are certainly disappointed by the suspension of PATH and the
uncertainties created by the PJM planning process, we do support a
thorough and detailed analysis of the need for the project. We remain
convinced that the project will be needed and plan to move forward with
it when PJM completes its review,” Michael G. Morris, AEP chairman and
CEO, stated in the release.
PJM indicated that it will undertake an evaluation of its planning
methods through a stakeholder process. This process will evaluate the
criteria used to determine the need for transmission projects under its
regional transmission expansion plan, and determine whether the need
for PATH should be re-evaluated in light of any approved revisions to
its planning process.
Once that process is complete, PJM has said it will reassess the need
for transmission expansion in the region. Until then, the release said
the two companies involved with PATH will immediately suspend most
activities on the project except for those that may be necessary to
return the project to active status at the conclusion of PJM’s planning
process review.
“We are pleased that PJM is evaluating its overall planning process,
and we hope that evaluation allows a longer-term view for transmission
expansion. In the meantime, we’ll move forward with our other
transmission investments including the ETT projects in Texas, our
Transco projects within our service territory, and the Prairie Wind
project in Kansas that recently received the go-ahead from the
Southwest Power Pool,” Morris said.
The PATH project has had its share of detractors. Over the years,
people have raised questions about whether the huge line is actually
needed and have voiced concern about having high-powered electric lines
going through their property. Some people have raised concerns about
their property being taken for the highline, while others worried that
it would ruin pristine areas and landscapes.