| by: blonde moment
I can't believe I'm going to say this, but ... PATH is on life support! It actually may be dead, but the companies are trying to maintain the fiction just a little longer.
The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) was a 765-kV line that would have run from the John Amos coal-fired generation plant in Putnam County all the way to Frederick County, MD - 275 miles, three states, destroying 7,000 acres of forest, and affecting the homes and land of thousands of West Virginians.
Opponents of PATH - and I am very proud to count myself as one of them - have been pointing out for more than two years that the project was not needed. We've documented many ways that the power companies were distorting the truth, and we've had some victories along the way.
But now! PJM, the regional transmission overseer, decided Friday to "suspend" the project, and AEP and FirstEnergy/Allegheny have now filed motions to withdraw their applications in all three states.
The public reason for the change? The drop in electricity demand forecasts because of the Great Recession - that's just one of the reasons we've been shouting for the past two years.
Less visible, but just as much a reason, is the change in national energy policy. Now that we actually have grown-ups in charge, building more transmission lines doesn't seem like the best way to address U.S. energy needs. And the success and spread of demand management programs in many states has helped immensely.
I say that PATH is on life support because the companies are reserving the right to re-file an application some time in the future. But the rules will be different this time around - they will have to formally notify EVERY SINGLE LANDOWNER that would be affected by a proposed new line. And instead of having 250 or so intervenors (still the greatest number ever to file in a PSC case), we will have a thousand!
Sorry to go on so long - though I've barely scratched the surface of everything I could say!
But one last thing: I am so proud of the hundreds of citizens who worked hard, contributed money and time, and STOOD UP! This is how we change things, by working for the change we believe in. |
