Published: April 22, 2008 02:24 pm         

Power line ruling may be delayed until August

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — State regulators say they need more time to review a proposed settlement before deciding whether to approve a $1.3 billion multistate power line.

State law requires the West Virginia Public Service Commission to issue a decision on the power line by May 3. But the PSC said last week that it wants to push back the deadline until at least Aug. 2.

Allegheny Energy Inc. subsidiary Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Co., also known as TrAILCo, wants to build the 500-kilovolt, 240-mile power line between Washington County, Pa., and Loudoun County, Va. In West Virginia, the line would pass through Monongalia, Preston, Tucker, Grant, Hardy and Hampshire counties.

The proposed settlement calls for Allegheny to give its West Virginia customers a seven-year reprieve from costs associated with the power line. Allegheny also agreed to locate 100 to 150 jobs in north-central West Virginia and to build a $50 million facility there.

The PSC must approve the agreement, which Greensburg, Pa.-based Allegheny reached with the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division and staff, and the West Virginia Energy Users Group, a coalition of large energy-consuming companies that includes DuPont and PPG Industries.

TraILCO filed a motion with the PSC last week seeking to delay a decision until June 2 to give the agency time to review the settlement. The PSC said in a filing that 30 days was insufficient because it would have to obtain comments from other parties in the case and hold a hearing before issuing a decision.

Several hundred residents oppose the power line, saying it would mar scenic views and lower their properly values. They also say the power line would continue an environmentally damaging reliance on coal-fired electricity.

PJM Interconnection, the organization responsible for the transmission grid for a 13-state area, has said the grid’s stability and the reliable flow of electricity within the region could not be guaranteed without the power line.

In January, Allegheny reached a deal with the PSC’s Consumer Advocate Division over the routing of the line in northern West Virginia. Allegheny agreed to supply free electricity to affected residential landowners. In turn, the Consumer Advocate Division agreed not to contest the line.

The deal is worth about $70 a month and only applies to residential customers. The line is expected to affect 500 property owners.