Proposed High-Voltage Line Sparks Worries in Lovettsville

Plans to run a high-voltage transmission line through a 10.5-mile stretch of northwestern Loudoun County have alarmed many Lovettsville residents, who say the towers carrying the line would mar the area's rural charm.

More than 350 people attended an open house at Lovettsville Elementary School on Thursday to ask questions and voice concerns about the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, known as PATH. For about three hours, people streamed in and out of the school's cafeteria, where they squinted at map displays and hunched over aerial photographs of their communities.

Many said that they were anxious about the proposal and that they had learned about it only recently from neighbors or local newspapers.

"I wish I had paid more attention sooner," Lovettsville resident Anne Polcha said on her way to the open house, which was sponsored by utility company officials.

PATH is a joint venture of Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy and Ohio-based American Electric Power. The 765,000-volt line would stretch from an Allegheny substation near St. Albans, W.Va., to a proposed substation near Kemptown, Md. It would cross Virginia twice -- first through Frederick County and then through a portion of Loudoun from the West Virginia border east to Lovettsville.

The final route has not been determined, and utility officials still need approval from authorities in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. They said they plan to file an application with Virginia's State Corporation Commission in mid-March and hope to have the line built by 2013.

PATH would run parallel to two existing power lines, a 138,000-volt Allegheny line and a 500,000-volt Dominion Virginia Power line. Utility officials say the project is needed to relieve the strain on the two lines and meet growing demand for electricity across the country's eastern region.

The new line would not serve Lovettsville homes and businesses directly, but it would feed into the overall electricity grid and could help prevent blackouts there, said Vern Estel, the power line's project manager and an Allegheny executive.

Residents at the open house said the towers, more than 100 feet high, would ruin the scenic landscape around Lovettsville and drive down property values. Residents said they are also worried about electromagnetic fields, citing possible harm to wildlife.

Val Wood moved from Arlington to a 21-acre farm in Lovettsville five years ago. She said she hopes to start a vineyard there but is concerned about the effect the power line might have on the rural economy.

"I'm really worried about what this will do to the whole vision of western Loudoun County," Wood said.

Other residents said they think the project is unnecessary because more people are using energy-efficient appliances, and local governments are promoting energy conservation.