Power Lines Hearing Ends Early

A hearing on Allegheny Energy's power line proposal ended yesterday. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission had allowed up to another week to hear testimony. Holly Ackerman, Director of Transmission Projects for Allegheny Energy, says schedules for these types of hearings are just estimates. She says the witnesses who testified reiterated what was already on the public record. Next month, attorneys will submit written arguments. The PUC is expected to rule on the proposal this summer.

Many residents of Washington and Greene counties oppose the project. They say it's unnecessary, would damage the environment and their property values, and would only serve to benefit power-hungry northern Virginia. Allegheny Energy contends that the lines would serve growing parts of Washington County, and that reliability could be an issue there as soon as next year.

If the PUC rules against the proposal, Allegheny Energy could appeal to the federal government. Much of Pennsylvania has been designated a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.

Power Lines Decision Comes as No Surprise

The U.S. Department of Energy has affirmed its decision to designate much of Pennsylvania as national energy corridor. That designation could make it easier for Allegheny Energy to build proposed transmission lines through Washington and Greene counties in Pennsylvania. Still unclear is whether the federal government would be able to use eminent domain in states that reject proposed power line projects.

Opponents to the project in southwestern Pennsylvania say it's not needed and could cause environmental damage. The towers supporting the lines would be up to 160 feet tall. The lines would begin in Pennsylvania and continue into West Virginia and northern Virginia. Allegheny Energy says the region will be at risk of blackouts by 2011 unless the lines are built.

Pennsylvania's Public Utility Commission will hold hearings on the project in Pittsburgh later this month.

Power Line Project Reaches Deal in West Virginia

Allegheny Energy has agreed to give some West Virginia residents free electricity in exchange for permission to build large power lines across their land. West Virginia’s Consumer Advocate has agreed not to contest the project as part of the settlement.

Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate Sonny Popowsky says he has not discussed a similar settlement with Allegheny Energy, and that the utility still faces several hurdles to getting the project approved.

Attorney Will Burns, who represents several power line opponents in southwestern Pennsylvania, says the project may face stronger opposition here than it has in West Virginia. Several residents in Greene and Washington counties have sued to stop it. Opponents say the project is unnecessary and that Allegheny Energy wants to use rural southwestern Pennsylvania to support more energy-hungry areas like northern Virginia.

Still, Burns says there is one aspect of the West Virginia agreement that Pennsylvania residents might find encouraging: a pledge by Allegheny Energy not to use aerial herbicide spraying. That’s been a big concern for farmers.

Hearings on the power line project in West Virginia are scheduled to begin Wednesday. In Pennsylvania, hearings will take place in March. But the state might not have the final say. If the state Public Utility Commission rejects the project, the federal government could overrule it.

Miners Train in Simulated Environment

Mine training has changed since accidents like the one that killed 12 miners in Sago, West Virginia. That mine explosion happened two years ago today. In Greene County, a training center for the United Mine Workers of America goes beyond what federal and state laws require.

The center has a simulated mine where trainees can experience what it's like to go underground. A new, larger simulated mine is expected to be ready by late this summer. The Executive Director of the training center, Clemmy Allen, says it may be the only one of its kind in the country. And he says this comes at a time mine owners are desperate for more workers. Many miners are retiring, and Allen acknowledges some people may shy away from the industry after hearing about Sago and other accidents. But he says the United States remains dependent on coal, and he doesn't think that will change in the near future, despite new attention to energy alternatives.