The article incorrectly said that the North American Electric Reliability Corp. thinks a proposed power line that would run through Southern Maryland is necessary. The organization said new transmission lines are needed, but it did not specifically endorse the proposal by Pepco Holdings.
Electricity Plan Advances to Public
Charles County Commissioners President Wayne Cooper, on land recently cleared for a power line, has been a vocal critic of Pepco's plan.
(By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post)
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Thursday, October 18, 2007
The operator of the mid-Atlantic region's electricity grid approved yesterday a high-voltage power transmission line that would begin in Northern Virginia and cut across Southern Maryland before going under the Chesapeake Bay and ending in New Jersey.
After the approval by PJM Interconnection, the $1 billion power line proposal by Pepco Holdings enters the public review phase, where it is likely to meet opposition from residents and other activists.
"This takes us by surprise, and we'll be watching carefully to learn the anticipated environmental impacts and see what we can do to protect Southern Maryland's environmental resources," said Bonnie Bick, an environmentalist.
State regulators from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey will consider the power line and its environmental impact before allowing it to be built.
This is the third high-voltage transmission line to win approval in recent months in the Washington region, where rapid growth has strained the power supply. The lines are necessary to prevent demand overloads that are anticipated in and around the nation's capital as soon as 2012, industry sources said.
In addition, the region will lose a power source in 2012 when the Benning Road and Buzzard Point power plants in the District close, said Ray Dotter, a spokesman for PJM, which serves 13 mid-Atlantic states and the District.
Although portions of the 230-mile Pepco line would run adjacent to an existing power line, the high-voltage line still would cross environmentally sensitive terrain in Prince William, Charles and Calvert counties -- as well as run under the Chesapeake Bay.
Last night, Pepco officials met privately with Charles residents to gauge reaction to the project, spokesman Robert Dobkin said. The utility will host public meetings in coming months to discuss the proposal and gather public input, he said.
"Part of building a line is also a communications project," Dobkin said. "We know people will have concerns, and we want to address that."
The addition of transmission lines could help lower "congestion fees" paid by customers in fast-growing regions such as Washington.
North American Electric Reliability Corp., the power industry's watchdog and accountability group, released a report this week stating that the electric power industry in the mid-Atlantic region has failed to keep pace with long-term demand.
David R. Nevius, the group's senior vice president, said yesterday that the Pepco line is necessary to supply power to the region.
