Mona Ridder
Cumberland Times-News
May 29, 2008 10:54 pm
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While the West Virginia Public Service Commission is still considering a compromise plan offered by Allegheny Energy for its TrAILCo high voltage power line construction, Gov. Joe Manchin has provided a counter offer that calls for a tax, rate reductions for residents and other concessions by the utility conglomerate.
The governor’s proposal is in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Sierra Club of West Virginia, according to a press release from his office.
In it, Manchin says that he intends to pursue a transmission tax should either the federal government or the state Public Service Commission approve the project.
The governor said that it has been a concern “primarily because of the possibility of the federal government superseding any decision that may be made at the state level.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order a year ago interpreting the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to give the energy commission the power to issue a permit for construction of a new power line even if a state lawfully denied a site transmission application.
And while the feds have since said they want to think about that a bit more, the threat of eminent domain over the state still exists, not just for West Virginia, but all states through which such proposed high voltage power lines could be built.
Manchin’s proposal includes four components:
• Rate reductions for West Virginia’s citizens so that they will pay less, not more, for the power they will receive from the line.
• Extra revenue for the counties that house the line.
• Extra revenue for the state that will allow it to provide additional services to all its citizens.
• Free electricity for all landowners who are affected by the placement of the line.
The governors of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia have already gone on record saying they would fight the federal government on the issue of overruling the states’ right to deny permits for the project.
TrAIL, also known as the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line, to be constructed by Allegheny Energy is not the only high voltage line being considered for construction in the region.
TrAIL is proposed to go from Virginia through West Virginia and Pennsylvania to improve transmission within the PJM grid to the Eastern Seaboard.
Likewise, PATH, the American Electric Power proposed high-voltage Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, is also to be constructed in the region. This approximately 290-mile, extra-high voltage transmission line would go from West Virginia into Maryland also with the participation of Allegheny Energy.
The citizen protest against the TrAIL project has been considerable with county and state officials in the region voicing their opposition as well.
In an effort to obtain the permit it seeks from the West Virginia Public Service District, Allegheny offered a compromise which included that its West Virginia utilities (Monongahela Power Company and The Potomac Edison Company) and TrAILCo will locate 100 to 150 managerial, professional, technical and administrative jobs in north-central West Virginia as well as construction of a new facility in the state with an estimated cost of $50 million. Annual payroll and benefits associated with the jobs at this facility are estimated at $12 million.
Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison will not seek recovery in West Virginia of the transmission charges associated with TrAIL (estimated to be more than $31 million) for seven years.
The proposal also calls for TrAILCo to contribute $5 million to fund energy conservation programs and assistance plans for low-income customers in the state over a five-year period.
Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison will provide rate relief in the form of credits totaling approximately $5.7 million to industrial customers for the years 2010 and 2011.
Allegheny has steadfastly argued that the TrAIL project is necessary to prevent future electric transmission failures in the form of blackouts and other problems.
Contact Mona Ridder at monaridder@verizon.net.
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