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.
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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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Strengthening the transmission grid will "improve its integrity and stability and improve its ability to handle unexpected contingencies" such as storms, Nevius said.
The power line proposals in the Washington region fall under the U.S. Energy Department's national interest designation, industry officials said. Therefore, they will test a new federal law that gives power companies authority to bypass state regulators and secure land through the federal government if their services are deemed vital to national energy interests.
Wayne Cooper (D-At Large), president of the Charles board of commissioners, has become a vocal critic of the Pepco line -- and he has discovered that he is powerless to stop it.
Cooper's sprawling farm in rural Southern Maryland borders a Pepco transmission line. Work crews from another utility, Southern Maryland Electrical Cooperative, recently cleared most of Pepco's property to make way for new power lines, officials said.
"It looks like a war zone. It looks like all hell broke lose," Cooper said one recent afternoon as he pointed to the swath of branches and brush lying where tall elm and oak trees once stood.
But, he said, accommodating electricity is a consequence of growth.
"What do you do?" he said. "As long as we continue to grow, we've got to continue to provide utilities. . . . We've got to provide power to the people."
