Power Line Hearings Come to Loudoun

Residents Question Need for Project

Dozens of Loudoun County residents spoke out Wednesday against plans for a high-voltage transmission line through the county, saying that the line's steel towers would ruin the landscape, drag down property values and hurt the environment.

About 75 people gathered at Loudoun Valley High School in Purcellville for the first Loudoun session of the State Corporation Commission's public hearings on the proposed line.

The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, known as PATH, is a 765,000-volt line that 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 10.5-mile portion of Loudoun from the West Virginia line east to Lovettsville.

Public hearings for PATH took place Monday and Tuesday in Winchester and continued Wednesday and Thursday in Loudoun.

The line's final route has not been determined, and utility officials need approval from authorities in Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia.

PATH is a joint venture of the Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy and Ohio-based American Electric Power.

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 the growing demand for electricity.

At Wednesday's hearing, residents, mostly from the Lovettsville area, questioned the need for the $1.8 billion project, especially because it would not serve Loudoun homes and businesses directly.

But utility officials said the line would feed into the overall electricity grid and could help prevent blackouts in the Lovettsville area, as well.

Other residents spoke about the environmental effects of the proposed line's coal-burning power plant. Most expressed concern about the line's impact on Lovettsville's rural landscape.

Purcellville resident Edythe Dunn, who owns 33 acres near an alternative route in PATH's application with Virginia's State Corporation Commission, said the line would mar her family's scenic vista from their dream home.

"PATH not only interrupts our lifestyle but our complete retirement plan," she said.

Even if she wanted to, Dunn said, she could not afford to fight PATH in court because the utility is backed by corporate dollars.

"This process is inherently biased," she said.

Malcolm Baldwin, a co-owner of a small sheep farm and vineyard a quarter-mile from the proposed power line, said his business is often used for weddings and other events. A power line nearby would "adversely affect the attractiveness of our event business," he said.

Other businesses expressed support for PATH.

Shannon Morris, an employee of Springfield-based AutoGate Electric, said the proposed power line would help ensure the success of her company, which installs automated gates for houses in the Washington region.

Without PATH "commercial and residential development will slow down and falter," she said.

Utility employees also spoke in favor of the proposed line, saying the project would boost the local economy.

"This project will provide much needed jobs in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland," said Jon Rosenberger, a utility worker and local union representative from Hagerstown.

Lovettsville Mayor Elaine Walker said that PATH's steel towers would mar the rural charm of her town, which is three miles from the Maryland state line and is considered the gateway to Virginia.

"This is not going to be a very pretty picture for our town," she said.

PATH officials said they hope to have the line in service by June 2014.