StopPATH WV

The NTSB has released its preliminary report on the TrAIL helicopter crash in Thomas, WV on October 30 according to this news report.  If you want to see the actual NTSB report, go here.  The crash was caused by contact with the power lines, according to the report.

Allegheny Energy, playing the part of Lady Macbeth, doesn't seem to have anything about it on their website, nor on their Trailco project site.  Out of sight is not out of mind for me.  No matter how many times they try to wash their hands, the blood spots remain.  All in the name of corporate greed.

Just a place to start storing news & blog links regarding the filing of the Preliminary Challenge. 

Frederick News Post
Leesburg Tomorrow
Coal Tattoo  (buried down in this long post - it's like a treasure hunt!)
Frederick News Post (second, longer article not written exclusively from a press release)

Yesterday, the Jefferson County Commission met with their new attorney in executive session to discuss strategy for the WV PSC's upcoming PATH case.  The media were on hand to report, but after brief introductions of attorney Brad Stephens by the County's prosecuting attorney, Stephanie Grove, the Commission went directly into Executive Session and we all got tossed out into the hallway.  The discussion was covered by attorney-client privilege and was understandably not open to the public.  This put us in the somewhat awkward position of attempting to comment on something we really weren't privy to, but who ever says "no" to more media exposure?  Commission President Lyn Widmyer made a statement afterward promising that the PATH case would be discussed at upcoming Commission meetings.

The Jefferson County Commission continues to stand firmly behind its citizens in opposition to PATH, which will devalue properties, decrease the tax base, endanger the health and well-being of residents living, working or going to school in close proximity and raise our electric rates, all without providing any local benefits.  The long-delayed WV PSC PATH case is moving along and Jefferson County needs to plan their case now in order to be prepared for testimony due in January 2011.

Press:  The Journal
           NBC25

Gearing up for more fun in Frederick tomorrow, the Frederick News Post ran another editorial panning PATH this morning.

There was also another dry, boring article by FNP business reporter Ed Waters, Jr., that was so insipid that I'm not even going to bother with the link.  When is FNP's management going to get a clue that PATH is not strictly a "business" issue but a larger, community issue that will affect residents (as opposed to businesses)?  By continually assigning all PATH stories to their business reporter, whose job is made easier by sucking up to corporations and reprinting press releases as "news", FNP continues to miss the REAL story here.  Maybe some day they'll actually want to sell some newspapers before they go broke and a whole bunch of people are out of a job.

The Louis Berger Group has agreed to pay $69 million to settle allegations of cheating the U.S. Government by intentionally overcharging by at least $10 million on government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In exchange, the government agrees not to pursue criminal charges against Louis Berger Group.  Read the entire story here.

The Louis Berger Group is also a contractor for the PATH companies and was paid $1,253,323.95 in 2009 for their work on the PATH project.  Because Louis Berger Group's services are considered a capital expense under PATH's Formula Rate cost-recovery system, these expenses earn that 14.3% return every year for the PATH companies until the asset has completely depreciated.  The more Louis Berger Group charges, the more interest PATH pockets!

All these expenses and their associated returns are being recovered from ratepayers in the PJM region every year.  Who's watching the henhouse here, except for the PATH company foxes?  Would Louis Berger Group be able to resist overbilling when faced with another source of public funding that is administered through a complicated financial/cost-recovery system that makes the average person's eyes glaze over and roll up into their head?

I hope we'll soon find out!

See this article in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail.  It is an AP story, so I can't fault the Herald-Mail for the content, but they ought to pay a little more attention to the filler they pick up and use.  Maybe they're just a little worn out after the long hours required by the election.  Newspeople are human too, after all.

This article is full of lies and half-truths.  Let's start with the headline, "Planned merger would cut electric rates in W. Va".  To read for yourself what a load of crap this statement is, see the actual proposed settlement that was filed with the WV PSC yesterday.  The truth is that your "savings" will only be offset by future costs whereby they will merely mitigate future rate increases.  The reduction of the ENEC rates by $7.5M over 5 years is chump change for the power companies.  They are billing $36.9M in 2011 alone for the PATH revenue requirement, a portion of which is passed on to you in the ENEC rates in WV.  After those five years are up... watch out, you're going to get severely jacked because they will cry that the haven't had an increase in 5 years.  So, don't start polishing your piggy bank yet, take a hammer to it instead.

That half a million they are "donating" to the Dollar Energy Fund is another very small pile of chump change for them.  They don't care about the "poor people".  Please!  I got a cute little flier about the Dollar Energy Fund in my bill today.  What they will do is match your contribution, dollar for dollar, if you donate to help pay the poor people's electric bills this winter.  Gosh, I wonder what that has to do with their $500K "donation" under this settlement?  Wanna bet their "donation" is the same as what they have already committed to match "subject to agreements" or something like that... there was a catch, but I've already tossed the thing and I'm not digging in the trash for it.

The Allegheny Energy/First Energy merger will also give you:

None of the direct merger costs can be recovered from ratepayers.  Ha ha!  I hope the WV PSC is intending to audit them.  They cheat.

No layoffs for Allegheny Power employees for two years, after which time they will "consider" you for a First Energy position.  If I worked for them, I'd be looking for another job... soon.

Their Fairmont Call Center will stay in operation for 5 years.  Then all those folks will have to go get new jobs and Fairmont will have a vacant facility on it's hands.  What great economic benefit to WV!!

That promised "regional headquarters" is for Mon Power and is to be located in or in close proximity to service areas.  Aren't other states like Ohio and Pennsylvania in "close proximity" to the Mon Power service area? 

There are some really vague promises of improved customer service/satisfaction and less outages and a puff of air promise to throw a bone toward energy efficiency and demand side management goals, but the percentages are so minuscule as to be laughable.

So, fellow West Virginia Allegheny Power customers, how does it feel to have been sold down the river again by the state officials who are supposed to be looking out for your welfare?  Who benefits here?  The super-rich power company stockholders and officers.  The worst part is they get all their money out of our pockets.

The one bright spot is that the case is not over yet.  Write, call and email the PSC and "your" representative Byron Harris at the PSC's Consumer Advocate Division and let them know your thoughts about their proposed "settlement", in which the citizens were prevented from participating.

Contact the WV PSC.

And come back and visit us again soon.  Lots of interesting bits of news stacked up for publication as time permits.  It's getting hot in here, folks!

Sad news out of Tucker County today.  A helicopter constructing the TrAIL 500kV line crashed, killing one worker and injuring three others.  Read the story here.  What a tragic waste of the life of someone who was only trying to make an honest living!

Allegheny's beady-eyed coal-fella is quoted as saying what an "important project" TrAIL is.  Important to Allegheny's balance sheet, perhaps, but not worth someone's life.  Can't he turn the BS off for a day out of respect?

Allegheny Energy, have I told you how much your greedy initiatives suck lately? 

Looks like time has finally hammered the final nail in PATH's coffin.  See this article in the New York Times about some big companies investing in an offshore backbone transmission project that will connect new wind projects with the east coast population centers who need new, clean energy to meet their renewable goals. 

Couple this with Dominion Virginia Power's proposal to re-build and modernize local 500kV transmission lines to provide a temporary solution to PJM's supposed grid problems, and you've got yourself a winner for everyone involved!  Well, except for Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power, but destiny has been barking at their heels ever since their greedy scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of society was hatched.

PATH has always been a bad idea and is now officially last year's crop.

It's time for PATH to give up!

Interesting article in Technology Review about the IEEE SmartGridComm2010 conference held this week.  Hackers seeking to make millions at the expense of electric consumers (not to be confused with PATH, who is already making millions at the expense of electric ratepayers in 13 states) could also make the grid unstable and prone to those dreaded "blackouts" PATH always talks about.

It seems that decades-old technology, such as that proposed for the "new" PATH line, makes it very easy for these intruders.  In addition, unmanned substations, like PATH's proposed "death site" in Mt. Airy, are also an infiltration point.

While the power companies pursue outrageous profits creating "new" transmission, they continue to ignore the existing threats posed current infrastructure.  As gigantic new "backbone" lines further complicate and interconnect the grid and eliminate local generation on the east coast, we set ourselves up as the perfect target whereby a careless hacker can take the entire east coast off line in an instant.

PATH = not smart!

UPDATE:  The continuation of the hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Winchester Hall in Frederick.  PATH still has two witnesses to present, so if you'd like an opportunity to question their paid witnesses, here's your chance!  You will also have the opportunity for general public comment.

Last night we attended what has turned out to be the first session of the Frederick County Board of Zoning Appeals hearing on PATH's application for a special exception to build their monstrosity, or "death site" as one of the many citizens dubbed it.

Despite beginning at 1:00 p.m. and being allotted two hours to present their case, PATH still wasn't done at 11:30 p.m. last night.  At least one additional session for this hearing will be scheduled to allow PATH to finish presenting their case, to allow the opposition groups to present their case, and to allow for general public comment.

The Board of Zoning Appeals did an outstanding job managing the process, even when presented with a crowd who was at times rebellious.  This hearing is a legal process and courtroom behavior should prevail.  As illogical as it certainly is, the BZA can only rule on the substation itself, and not other components of the PATH project.  It is correct (in the abstract) that the substation could be approved and built under BZA authority without any lines ever connected to it.  If you think that would actually happen though, don't.  Just play along, folks!  This decision has to be able to withstand future legal scrutiny because it will surely be challenged, no matter how the case is decided.

What was really fun about last night was that the public was allowed to cross-examine PATH's witnesses.  We sat through Linda Erdreich (EMF health effects "expert"), James Silva (EMF engineer) and some other guy who was supposed to be an "expert" in noise effects from the substation (I can't remember his name).  It was amusing to watch the witnesses continually pass the buck onto the next witness in line when they couldn't or didn't want to answer a question.  Other amusements:  Watching the witnesses struggle along once they were off their script.  Not the most personable bunch you'd want to invite to your next dinner party!  Watching them squirm over some of the excellent questions they were asked by the public. And then there is the opponent who is just plain funny -- this guy cracks me up every time.  Last night his "death site" comment had me wiping my eyes trying to maintain some composure.  The best part by far though was watching one of their witnesses commit perjury.  :-)  Ouchies!

When we get word of the date & time of the continuation of this hearing, we'll let you know.  Until then, the decision in Frederick County is still up in the air.

Read the story in the Frederick News Post.