West Virginia Blue
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As one with front-page privileges at WVa Blue, I am always thrilled when this blog is cited elsewhere, particularly when it makes the leap to widely read "traditional" media. I'm also just pleased as punch when WVa Blue comes to the attention of journalists that I respect.
Ken Ward Jr. at the Charleston Gazette is one such reporter. He's been covering the coal industry for years, and I read his blog, Coal Tattoo, religiously. (If you don't, you should; bookmark the site: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/ )
He is entitled to feel offended that we would question whether his silence on PATH since May 16th - the day after the application was filed - is because the PATH companies have gone into full advertising blitz mode, with radio and TV commercials, full-page advertisements in newspapers, and paid PR teams.
I personally do not believe that's the reason for his lack of attention. But I do think that's one reason why other newspapers, not just in West Virginia but throughout the region (even nationally), have either ignored the subject or been blatantly one-sided in their coverage, and if Ken is upset that he might be tarred by the same brush, he should look to his industry and challenge them, not us.
Rather than sulk at our expressed disappointment, I wish that Ken would undertake some really serious analysis of PATH, its backstory, claims of necessity, and tactics, to name a few aspects. I wish he would write about the Public Service Commission's actions to date, the steps it has taken to actively limit involvement by ordinary citizens (such as the artificially short deadline to file to intervene), and the regulatory rationale it uses to justify putting so-called "regional benefits" over the welfare of its own citizens.
Those are topics that I can summon up off the top of my head in about 30 seconds. There are plenty more, any of which would be truly compelling journalism.
Ken does himself and his readers a disservice when he accuses us of wearing "blinders" when, as he put it,
if the "mainstream media" doesn't focus only on their personal issues, then the MSM is falling down on the job.
Personal issue, my a**. Most of those who oppose PATH see this project as one important aspect of all the issues that Ken covers now - the fate of mountaintop removal, the debate over climate change and how to combat it, the fairy tale of "clean coal," etc., plus topics that don't fall within Ken's normal beat, such as the gap between our state's government and its citizens, the lack of oversight, the sense of corruption, the corporate oligopoly and its control of our institutions.
I think we have a much more objective perspective in this case than he does. I'm sorry, Ken, that you don't like our taking you to task on this. But I doubt we'll stop.
The West Virginia PSC issued an order yesterday allowing 265 parties, including more than 250 individuals and businesses, to intervene in the PATH case now before the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The PSC resoundingly rejected power company motions to deny intervenor status to almost all petitioners.
There is nothing on any news-related Web site this morning about what is clearly a historic event in utility regulation in WV.
Doug Kaplan, president of the Sugarloaf Conservancy in Maryland, gave me permission to post the summary prepared by the group's attorney about the hearing last Friday before the Maryland Public Service Commission.
Members of the Sugarloaf Conservancy, Inc., as well as interested citizens and property owners from Urbana and Mt. Airy, principally, attended the hearing before the Public Service Commission ("PSC") today on the application of Potomac Edison on behalf of PATH (a conglomerate of various transmission companies and groups, including Allegheny Power and AEP) which seeks to build transmission lines and a substation near Mt. Airy.
The hearing commenced at 10:00 AM with four of the five commissioners present. The hearing was focused on four questions which the PSC had requested the parties to brief, dealing with procedural and jurisdictional issues to determine if they would accept the application for filing. Presentations were made by the attorneys for the several parties, including the Applicant, Frederick County, the Sierra Club, Office of Peoples Counsel, Staff of the Public Service Commission and Jim Thompson, attorney for the Sugarloaf Conservancy, Inc. In addition, individual presentations were made by eight to ten citizen / intervenors addressing a variety of issues including the lack of notice the Applicant had given to citizens.
As a result of the hearing, it appears that the PSC will issue a decision within the next two weeks with several of these findings:
Here's a link to the Frederick (MD) News-Post article on yesterday's MD PSC public hearing in Baltimore.
The MD PSC chairman, Douglas Nazarian, went right after PATH Allegheny, LLC as a phony front company that is not a public utility under MD law. Not a good start for AEP/Allegheny. Power company lawyers responded that the PSC could "broaden" the law. That is corporationspeak for "break the law."
Also from the article:
"After the hearing, James Thompson, attorney for Sugarloaf Conservancy, said he did not expect the PSC to accept the application. He said the application could be resubmitted to the PSC, possibly under another Allegheny Power entity, but he hoped it would end up under review by the county government."
1. AEP/Allegheny are losing customers in their former industrial consumer base in IN, WV, OH and western PA. Recent wholesale prices for AEP electricity in the western section of the PJM region were just over 1.6 cents per kilowatt hour.
2. AEP/Allegheny are trying to gain access to new customers in "load pockets" in NJ, eastern MD and eastern PA where wholesale prices for purchased power ran as high as 22 cents per kilowatt hour in the most recent PJM auction. Here is a link to the PJM press release on recent prices.
3. AEP/Allegheny stockholders and highly paid executives do not want to pay for the construction of the power lines needed for them to reach these high profit markets, so they lobbied for, and got, the power of the federal government to force all electric rate payers in the PJM region to buy these power lines for them, plus extra high profit rates, also paid for by rate payers.
4. Even with the rate payers paying the full cost of power line construction, AEP/Allegheny must still "persuade" landowners to give up land for the power lines. In a free market, AEP/Allegheny would have to offer to pay enough money to landowners to get them to voluntarily sell their land.
5. AEP/Allegheny do not want to pay the free market price for land, so they lobbied Congress, and got, federal eminent domain powers, if state regulators do not cooperate. (Fortunately, the federal court in Richmond stopped this federal subsidy of the power companies for the time being.) AEP/Allegheny also want a certificate of convenience and necessity from the WV PSC, because with that, the power companies will have state eminent domain power to force WV landowners to sell their land at below market prices. Remember, eminent domain proceedings price land at its "fair market price" for general sales of land, not sales of land for power line projects. A land owner faced with eminent domain is no longer in a free market, because he has lost the right to say "no" to any deal.
6. When the power companies need land, they run to federal and state governments for the power to force landowners to sell at low prices. When electricity consumers buy electricity, we do it in the "free" electricity markets, where the power companies make the rules. So much for the free market in real estate.
7. AEP/Allegheny want a free ride from rate payers, landowners and the government, because they want to stomp out the operation of the free market in the eastern "load zones." The high price of electricity in the eastern PJM market is a "market signal" that people in those areas have to do something new. They have to innovate. They could import electricity from AEP/Allegheny, but if AEP/Allegheny had to build their own long distance power lines without government help and forcing landowners to give away their land, the price of this electricity would be astronomical.
8. As an alternative to importing electricity from WV and OH, the people in the eastern "load zones" could innovate by reducing the demand for electricity at peak times through better managing demand and efficiency, or they could build new electrical generating plants to supply their power needs. This innovation is happening anyway, which is why PJM has reluctantly moved back the start up date for PATH two years to 2014.
9. PJM's rules actively discourage new investment in innovative power generation in east coast markets. PJM's (very unfree) market rules and processes are rigged to favor power from AEP/Allegheny's bulk power plants in the western end of the PJM region.
10. All of the NERC violations and possibilities of "brownouts and blackouts" that AEP/Allegheny/PJM claim are the reasons for PATH, would disappear if free market forces in east coast markets were allowed to operate without interference from government regulators and power company lobbyists. There would be no need to transmit power from the Ohio River valley to the east coast and stresses on the power grid in eastern WV and western VA and MD would never happen.
The solution is simple. Allow the market to work without government subsidies or interferance. AEP/Allegheny should pay whatever it takes to get landowners along PATH to freely part with their land without confiscation through government eminent domain. If that costs too much money, then the AEP/Allegheny stockholders can decide if PATH will be profitable or not.
At the same time, the true cost of importing electricity into the east coast will encourage innovation in power conservation and new power generating technologies. If the market is allowed to operate without interferance, it will be clear that increasing efficiency, conservation and new generation on the east coast are much cheaper than importing power from WV.
We have already seen that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, PJM Interconnection, AEP and Allegheny Energy do not believe in the free operation of markets. Will the WV Public Service Commission allow the free market to operate by denying a certificate of need to AEP/Allegheny? Will the WV PSC allow the free market to operate by denying AEP/Allegheny the ability to use government to confiscate land using eminent domain?
An article appearing in the Martinsburg Journal today by Naomi Smoot, "Officials: PATH not without benefits", quotes a single power company official touting the benefits of building one large transmission line compared to "30 lines at 138 kilovolts each."
This is like a mad doctor saying, don't complain about your healthy arm I'm about to amputate--just be happy I'm going to cut it off with one swipe of an axe instead of taking thirty slices with a meat cleaver.
Why did this story appear on this day in the paper? Best I can tell, it is because American Electric Power and Allegheny Power scheduled a media day--complete with helicopter rides--to showcase their PaTH joint venture. A paper with a better editor would use the media day as a launching pad for a much bigger picture on the project.
Does the story, as reported, have news value? No. The article is indistinguishable from a corporate press release. It only quotes a single source, an official from American Electric Power. It doesn't meet the Wikipedia standards for a neutral point of view. This article is much closer to advertisement copy than a newspaper story.
What would a news story on PaTH look like? There's a strong clue right there in the story:
The line has prompted concern for area residents and county officials. In all, 120 citizens, businesses and governmental agencies in Jefferson County have filed as interveners in the West Virginia Public Service Commission case to determine whether the line should be approved.
But, this paragraph raises more questions than it answers (Is 120 a lot or a little? Why are they concerned?). The article says nothing else about what the concerns are.
The entire remainder of the article are about benefits of building the transmission lines. Unstated is, inasmuch as those benefits even exist, they are almost exclusively benefits to the electrical utilities, not to residents of the newspaper's reading area!
The real news is the unprecedented number of "citizens, businesses and governmental agencies in Jefferson County [who] have filed as interveners." I bet there's never been more than a handful from Jefferson County before in any case at the PSC. Just imagine how many papers you could sell if you started telling the stories of these engaged local citizens.
Reader reaction
There is one small silver lining today. With 120 petitioned interveners in Jefferson County, the newspaper has an increasingly well informed audience. (With no thanks to the paper.)
The reader responses are priceless. Here's a flavor of the negative responses:
JournalReader - 07-30-09 6:04 AM
Why does the Journal roll over and play fetch for AEP? This reporter consistently is a mouthpiece for any corporate propaganda -- never seen her apply critical thinking skills to any story. In the age of shrinking newspaper revenues, the purchase of full page ads by AEP/PATH must be like manna.
FERCYOU - 07-30-09 6:34 AM
Lies. 1. This power will not be used in the eastern panhandle. PATH's own maps prove this. 2. Who cares how many 138kV lines it would take to equal PATH? If the east coast provides its own renewable power, we won't need ANY new transmission lines (AKA extension cords). 3. Height of towers. I guess they didn't bother looking at their own application to the PSC. Tower heights are much higher in the application. 4. Nothing can "blend" 180 foot towers into the landscape. Get real! 5. Cost = over $1.8 billion, with 14.3% profit for Allegheny and AEP paid for by you. 6. 140 intervenors from Jefferson Co. 7. These lines are creating a new 275 foot right of way adjacent to existing lines, hardly "a couple of feet". 8. PATH land agents are busy in Jefferson Co. trying to swindle folks out of their land for a song. Just say NO.
jbchris - 07-30-09 8:41 AM
ChEwNo, you are exactly right about the extension cord concept, that is precisely what PATH is, a huge extension cord supplying dirty coal fired electricity to the eastern seaboard where they don't want it, does that make sense to you? Renewable energy systems both large and small will solve our nations energy needs now and into the future. Why invest millions in an obsolete technology? We should build renewable systems that are clean alternatives and wait for the smart grid technology to be instituted in order to plan for the nations future electrical needs. Don't be fooled by fear and free advertising as reported in the Journal, use your mind and embrace the future of electrical generation.
Sesame - 07-30-09 4:04 PM
First: I have documented all comments by Mr. Allen Staggers, Allegheny Energy Spokesperson, stated in past Journal Articles. Now I will update/add Mr. Gogol's comments. In the near future I will publicly address the comments.
Second. PATH representatives are telling on one side of the story,not the whole story, which equates to lying,is very poor business ethics and is not within any code of conduct I have ever worked under either in private or government industry.
Examples of half truth or one side of the story. Mr. Gogol states that they are in Jefferson County simply asking for rights to survey. He fails to mention surveying/taking core samples requires bringing heavy equipment onto the property and drilling down as much as 30 feet. Huge disruption to the property and homeowner. Running tandem to the existing 500 and 138 volt lines is considered as of no consequence, when in fact it now increases the electric field to 1403 kilo-volts of electricity. No Issues?
houner - 07-30-09 6:06 PM
The so-called "fact box" (actually a xerox of a power company press release) contains the statement that "80 percent Amount of the project that will parallel existing 500 kilovolt power lines." Besides making absolutely no sense grammatically, this statement is not a "fact". Very little of the PATH line will parallel existing lines. I all cases where that happens, the PATH line will require an additional 200 right of way. There is at least one lie in the "fact box." Many more in the quotes from power company hacks.
Maybe it's time to update that old saying by Mark Twain: "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed." If you read newspaper Internet comments, you're un-mis-informed.
Can someone please explain to me why there is a media blackout on the PATH line?
More than 230 people have petitioned to intervene in the PSC case, probably the biggest number of intervenors ever, and there is nothing about it in any state or national media outlets?
Bloggers and newspapers in WV are debating lots of abstract policy ideas about alternative energy and global warming while 230 West Virginians are doing something about it.
National media outlets are covering PATH as if it were three different power lines in three different states. Why aren't they covering the amazing story of citizens and groups coming together to fight PATH across state lines?
Why aren't Washingon area media outlets letting their listeners know about how West Virginians feel about PATH and vice versa?
Why are the Charleston and Parkersburg and Wheeling papers not informing their readers that if PATH is built, they will be paying for this obsolete project on their electric bills?
The state media outlets ignore all the most important reasons why PATH is a bad idea and focus on land owners. Then, to confirm their self-made self-fulfilling account, they claim the only opponents of the line are land owner NIMBYs who don't want the line in their backyard.
Major media outlets spend their time xeroxing power company press releases and cashing advertising checks from power company ads, paid for by every rate payer in West Virginia. Right now, the best current reporting on PATH is being done by the Buckhannon Record Delta, Calhoun County's online Hur Herald and the Martinsburg Journal. Where is everyone else?
A delegation of Jefferson County residents met with Gov. Joe Manchin today (Thursday), when he came to Charles Town for a ceremony. Manchin's office requested the half-hour meeting.
Manchin told the citizens that he's requested that all three members of the Public Service Commission come to the public hearing the PSC will hold somewhere in the Eastern Panhandle later this year - which is excellent news.
Manchin also said of PATH, "If it's not needed, then don't build it," adding that if the PSC does find the need exists, as the power companies say, the ratepayers of West Virginia won't pay for it since they're getting nothing from it. On the other hand, he said the current grid is antiquated - that if Thomas Edison were alive today, he'd recognize it.
Manchin also defended the coal industry. He said that 50 percent of the nation's energy supply comes from coal, it's projected to increase to 57 percent in the next decade, and it will continue to be used for the next 30 to 50 years (though he acknowledged the downturn in coal use and blamed it on the recession, never mind that it started to drop before the bottom dropped out of the economy). When the residents gave him a copy of the letter from 10 East Coast governors calling on Congress to design an energy policy that stresses local generation and use of offshore winds, Manchin dismissed it, saying it's completely unrealistic to think wind power will ever meet the country's needs.
Manchin said the PSC would require the power companies to prove need; he said the companies have not yet been required to implement more efficiencies, such as the use of ceramic materials, net metering, etc.
Dale Manual, president of the Jefferson County Commission, joined the residents at the meeting and brought up that the power companies have asked the PSC to disqualify individual intervenors on a variety of grounds, but that Byron Harris, the state Consumer Advocate, has already filed a brief supporting citizens and disagreeing with the companies. The residents' group also pointed out the unfairness of the power companies charging ratepayers for the cost of their expert witnesses, while citizens don't have the deep pockets to hire experts of their own. They suggested that since citizens are going to bear the cost anyhow, perhaps the PSC should tell the companies to set up an escrow account for intervenors to use to pay for experts.
At that, Manchin got Mike Albert, chairman of the PSC, on the phone and put it on speaker - Manchin raised the question of including or denying intervenors. Albert said the PSC will probably try to combine intervenors into groups, so there aren't "dozens or hundreds" of individual intervenors participating in cross-examination of expert witnesses during the evidentiary hearing, since the commission would never get through the case otherwise. Also in response to the residents' questions, Manchin asked about the possibility of extending the current 30-day deadline for people to file as intervenors; Albert dodged the direct question, but said that the commission generally allows folks "with standing" flexibility in terms of the deadline. (No mention of the fact that the PATH companies had suggested a filing deadline in October - a full four and a half months, rather than 30 days.) And he brought up the idea of the escrow account, saying that it sounded like a fair approach. Again, Albert didn't respond directly, and Manchin said he was trying to be cautious about not interfering with the PSC process.
Manchin suggested that residents should be talking to Billy Jack Gregg, the former consumer advocate, now retired. He expressed a lot of admiration for Gregg, and said that Billy Jack both took his responsibility to protect citizens seriously and also had great depth of knowledge on utility issues.
The citizens asked the governor if he would be returning to Jefferson County over the summer to meet with all affected property owners as previously requested by Senator Snyder and Manchin indicated that he would.
Before, during and after the meeting, approximately 25 dedicated citizens were demonstrating against PATH with signs saying things like "Greed Not Need" and "Honk to Stop PATH" along U.S. 340 at the entrance to the hotel. Support from passing motorists was enthusiastic.
A very talented gentleman who lives in Jefferson County has put together a video about the coal-to-electricity process that's very compelling (and he composed the music himself!). I've never tried to embed a YouTube video, so let's see what happens ... If you like it, visit YouTube to view it so the count goes up - and please, pass it around to everyone you can think of!
Now that the PATH application has been filed in all three states - Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia - citizens in the tri-state region opposed to the project are planning a demonstration this Sunday, May 31.
The demonstration will be held on the stretch of U.S. Route 340 near Harpers Ferry, WV. Demonstrators will be on the westbound (river) side of the highway, from the Virginia/West Virginia state line to the turn for Chestnut Hill Road. This location, between the bridges over the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, is where the three states all converge, and represents our region's commitment to a sensible national energy policy that ends the destructive commitment to King Coal.
(It's also where there is a major traffic jam every Sunday afternoon as visitors to the area head back to the D.C. metropolitan region. We won't be causing the traffic jam, but we can make use of it to reach people who don't understand they, too, will be affected by higher rates, more pollution, more environmental destruction, and more coal.)
The demonstration will take place from 3-5 p.m., rain or shine. Supporters are meeting in Brunswick and Charles Town at 2 p.m., to take shuttle transportation to and from the site. On-site parking is limited, and participants are asked not to bring any children younger than 16.
The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project is intended to carry electricity generated at the John E. Amos coal-fired generation plant ultimately to New Jersey. While AEP and Allegheny Energy claim the project is necessary to prevent blackouts and brownouts in five years, numerous citizens, environmental groups and "green" energy advocates point to declines in electricity usage, changes in national energy policy, and concerns about greenhouse gas emissions from burning coal as reasons to scrap this high-voltage extension cord.
The governors of ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have asked Congress to create an energy policy that supports local generation of electricity using on- and off-shore wind resources. That includes the governors of Maryland and Virginia - two states PATH is supposed to cross. This project violates everything these states are looking to accomplish in their own energy policies.
If anyone is interested in joining us, please let me know.
Lots going on today, too much for me to cover on an otherwise busy day. Head over to Coal Tattoo where Ken Ward, Jr. has the multiple stories covered. For more on the (as expected) PATH application filing, see the ever-helpful The Power Line blog, too.
The story I find most intriguing today is Rep. Rahall crowing about Obama's EPA approving the majority of MTR approvals submitted recently. Can't tell if that is final approvals or if he has his numbers straight, as there is no permit by permit list out yet to back up the numbers.
Either way, the news is causing great disappointment to those who thought candidate Obama promised a dramatic change in MTR policy (I never interpreted his comments as such).
Both the Sierra Club and the Piedmont Environmental Council have notified numerous people that AEP and Allegheny Power intend to file their application for the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline this Friday, May 15.
Once notification of the application is declared in newspaper ads - I do not know what the requirements are for the number or location of newspapers, frequency (or if it's just once) - individuals, businesses, and any other affected entities have 15 days to file to be an intervenor in the application process.
The Calhoun Power Line blog (http://calhounpowerline.wordpress.com/) has a number of comprehensive entries regarding the PSC process and being an intervenor. If you live in any of the 17 counties PATH will run through, you can apply to be an intervenor. (Personally I think anyone in West Virginia has standing, since every ratepayer in the state will be paying for this.)
The PSC's toll-free number is 800-344-5113; you can call and ask questions.
There will be numerous meetings in the affected counties over the next few weeks to work out ways to respond.
The issue of these high-voltage transmission lines has been elevated on the national stage. Ten governors of Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states (VT, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE, MD and VA) just sent a letter to the congressional leadership asking that the entire planning process for transmission be restructured, to include more objective analysis of need, more inclusive incorporation of renewable sources, and priorities given to local generation making use of renewables, especially on- and offshore wind power.
And 35 national and regional environmental and conservation organizations (including the Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Fund) jointly sent a letter to the EPA, then to senators asking that energy legislation place far greater emphasis on developing renewable sources.
This project is going to be the first test of the state and federal governments' policies during the Obama Administration. I would like to believe that the hope and excitement I felt when he was elected - that there will be a responsive government that addresses its citizens' concerns and priorities - will be justified. Even if it takes years.
Update: This morning I spoke with John Auville, a staff attorney with the Public Service Commission, about how much time intervenors will have to file. He said, and this is a quote:
You're certainly going to have more than 15 days to file to intervene...
Oct 14 is proposed last day to intervene if filing is May 15. My guess is they'll file a proposed procedural schedule when or shortly after their filing; then [it's]ordered by the PSC. Anybody who's a party can make a comment on [the proposed schedule]. I'm pretty sure that when they file on Friday, if they do file on Friday, that proposed schedule may be in there.
I emailed Auville and asked him to confirm the accuracy of my transcription of his comments. He replied by email:
I would say that is a correct representation of our conversation, especially the part about having more than 15 days to file for intervenor status.
Buckhannon Informational Meeting on Power Line Set for May 8th
Concerned citizens of Upshur County, along with WV Sierra Club and WV Highlands Conservancy, are sponsoring an informational public meeting about the proposed new large PATH power line.
PATH is the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) 765 Kilovolt power line proposed to run 244 miles from American Electric Power's (AEP) John Amos coal fueled power plant near St. Albans, WV, across central and north-eastern West Virginia, including Upshur County, to northeast of Martinsburg, WV, then from there an additional 46 miles to near Frederick, Md.
The "PATH" informational public meeting will be held on May 8, 2009 at Kresge Hall in the basement of the Martin Religious Center at WV Wesleyan College in Buckhannon. Enter on either side of the chapel from the rear of the chapel and go downstairs. Desserts, coffee, and conversation will begin at 6:30 PM and the program will start at 7:00 PM. Please join us.
At this meeting citizens can learn about PATH, its many costs, proposed routes, and how citizens can take effective action to protect their interests. Speakers, displays and maps will inform citizens and enable them to inform others.
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