West Virginia Highlands Voice

By Frank Young

Graphic by Chris Jones, a Senior at Herbert Hoover High School

The fight about the proposed 225 miles long, 765 Kilovolt PATH (Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline) is one of words- literally millions of words- on tens of thousands of pages of public comments, sworn testimony, rebuttal testimony, data requests and replies to data requests. And after the evidentiary hearings in February will come more thousands of pages of briefs and reply briefs, and more public comments.

In the meantime, the TrAIL of destruction for PATH’s 500 Kilovolt little sister power line, known as TrAIL (Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line), is proceeding across more than 100 miles of northern and eastern West Virginia.

PATH is dreams come true for the dozens of lawyers who assemble millions of words supporting PATH, and for makers of the hundreds of reams of paper used to record them.

And while the PATH corporate lawyers compose their hundreds of official looking documents, dozens and dozens of hours of more words are spoken by citizens at public hearings in the thirteen western, central and eastern West Virginia counties through which the giant PATH line would pass.

With all these spoken and written words in opposition to and in support of the PATH interstate highway for electrons, one might think that all anyone would ever want to know about a proposal to build such a gigantic facility would be answered in those millions of words. But one would be wrong.

There are four PATH companies- some old and some new- that have together applied to the WV Public Service Commission (PSC) for a Certificate of Need construct and operate the PATH power line.

There is one area of significant information that the PATH companies steadfastly refuse to answer about- and resist letting others even inquire about. That is the matter of generation sources for the electricity the PATH line would carry.

The PATH companies contend that the only issue before the PSC is that of allowing the construction and operation of the PATH line. PATH contends that the economic effects of PATH on electricity ratepayers, and the sources of fuel to generate electrical power to feed the PATH line, are not relevant to the PATH application case.

The more than 200 legal interveners in the PATH proceedings at the PSC beg to differ. Most of the 240 intervening parties- along with thousands who have written public comment PATH protest lettersare very concerned about the source of the electricity that would feed the PATH, and about how PATH would affect WV electricity rates.

The basic need for PATH is at the heart of the litigation at the PSC. The PATH companies contend that PATH is needed to address “reliability” issues on the interstate power grid- especially in regions east and north of the Allegheny Mountains of WV. Opponents contend that West Virginia already exports 70 percent of the electricity it generates, and that the state and its residents should not be bearing even more of the economic and other human and environmental burdens to supply electricity to feed the insatiable energy appetites of east coast areas.

Interveners plead that the 200 feet tall and 200 feet wide PATH line would decrease the quality of life and decrease the economic value of propertiesespecially residential properties- in the vicinity of PATH. And these interveners are especially concerned about the health effects of electro-magnetic energy expelled from the PATH line onto the surrounding environment.

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy (WVHC) and the WV Chapter Sierra Club are both interveners against PATH. They contend that PATH would not only disrupt the lives of people and other living creatures and natural amenities along the PATH route, but that the mining, especially strip mining, and burning of coal to generate the power to feed PATH would increase the already overwhelming deleterious environmental effects of coal and other fossil fuel generated energy.

WVHC argues that PATH would have the effect of quashing incentives for developing more local and renewable sources of power, discourage better efficiency standards and demand side management techniques, and would thwart efforts to wean ourselves away from the use of fossil fuels.

Have you made your voice heard about PATH? There is still time and opportunity to do just that. Public hearings are still going on- and including at Davis (Tucker County) on October 13th, and at Buckhannon (Upshur County) on October 22nd.

Public comment letters will be accepted until the PATH case is decided by the PSC in mid June, 2010.

Comments can be addressed to:
Executive Secretary Sandra Squire, WV
Public Service Commission, 201 Brooks
Street, Charleston WV 25301

Refer to PATH case number 09-