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Interstate power line may bring money to Preston: American Electric looks at route from W.Va. to N.J.
(The Dominion Post in Morgantown (WV)(KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 7--INFORMATION ONLINE about the AEP proposal: www.aep.com/newsroom/intras tateProject.asp.
KINGWOOD -- A proposed $3 billion interstate electric transmission line could pass through Preston County, bringing tax revenue along with it.
Ohio-based American Electric Power has filed requests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the PJM Interconnection to build a 765-kilovolt transmission line from Amos in Putnam County to Deans, N.J.
The proposed 550-mile line is estimated to cost $3 billion and be in service by 2014.
The state assesses taxes on utilities, based on cost and income evaluations. But, a spokesman said, only counties with utility properties receive a part of the taxes levied.
Preliminary drawings for the proposed line show it going through southern Preston County.
But Melissa McHenry, manager of corporate media relations for AEP, said Monday, "This is just one preliminary thought on where it ought to go. It's not anymore specific, and we're not wedded to that."
PJM will determine exactly where the line will go, McHenry said.
"We don't have anything more detailed than that," she said, referring to a proposed route that goes from Amos in Putnam County northeast to southern Preston County, then east to New Jersey.
It could be months before PJM makes its decision. McHenry said American Electric Power hopes to have the project included in PJM's next transmission expansion plan.
There is no schedule for releasing the plans, and the last was in December 2005. McHenry said the next is expected late in 2006 or early 2007.
AEP is based in Columbus, Ohio, and operates in 11 states, including West Virginia.
PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization, which coordinates the movement of electricity through all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission promotes the voluntary formation of regional transmission organizations "to promote efficiency in wholesale electricity markets and the lowest price possible for reliable service," according to its Web site.
AEP has formed a separate company, AEP Transmission Company LLC, to build, own and operate the proposed line. It will solicit public opinion during the routing studies, and eventually negotiate with landowners for rights of way.
Environmental impact studies will also be part of the site selection process. According to AEP, the proposed transmission line will reduce costs by "substantially improving west-east transfer capability" and reducing network losses.
Among the areas expected to benefit from more reliable and economic transmission are Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and Wilmington, Del.
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