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PATH Alternative requires no new rights-of-way at one-third the price

1/25/2011

13 Comments

 
Here's an article in the The Intermountain published yesterday.  Dominion's Alternative One is being backed by West Virginians who are urging the WV-PSC to support the plan.  The staff of the WV-PSC is already backing Dominion's Alternative One, which was part of their reasoning in their December motion to dismiss or toll the PATH case.  Dominion's Alternative One will rebuild existing transmission lines to modernize them and increase their capacity.  Half of this alternative has already been approved by both PJM and the WV-PSC, and construction is scheduled to begin this spring in the Eastern Panhandle with rebuilding of the current Mt. Storm-Doubs line which runs through southern Jefferson County.

Dominion's Alternative One requires NO new rights-of way and costs a mere one-third of the current estimate of the PATH project.  This is the sensible alternative that meets both PJM's "need" and protects the property rights, health and welfare of the citizens of West Virginia.  We should all support Dominion's Alternative One!

Try not to laugh too hard at Allegheny's lil' Coal Fella.  He's spinning so hard in that article, if he'd become untethered in the process, he may have shot off into space.  Let's see... what's the silliest thing he said:

1.  PJM "ordered" them to build PATH.  They continue to hide behind PJM as some sort of impartial electrical deity when we all know that Allegheny begged PJM to create a "need" for their project and that PJM has been accused of bias and conflict of interest for their stubborn support of PATH that flies in the face of all logical reason.

2.  Existing transmission lines "connect communities".  High-voltage transmission lines serve one purpose in West Virginia and that's to export electricity to states on the East Coast.  West Virginia exports 80% of the electricity it produces.  The "communities" connected by transmission lines are our power plants and East Coast cities.

3.  PATH is "needed" and the inservice date shifted because of the recession.  No, PATH's inservice date keeps being shifted further out into the future because the companies cannot prove a "need" for it and have to keep going back to the drawing table at PJM to come up with new numbers that only end up shredded by experts again.  It's a vicious circular cycle that is holding residents of three states hostage at the whim of an out-of-state corporate profit initiative.

4.  "Most" of the PATH line would run parallel to existing lines - 45%.  Since when is 45% considered "most".  It's less than half, not more than half.  "Most" is defined as the majority, not the minority.

5.  He's trying to insinuate that PATH's taking of 224 miles of new right-of-way in West Virginia is somehow minimized by running parallel with existing lines for this 45% of its course.  He even tries to minimize the other 55% of the line that will not parallel existing lines.  New rights-of-way are new rights-of-way.  They take land from West Virginians and ruin property for current and future use and enjoyment.  They lower taxes and place a higher burden on the rest of the taxpayers to fund necessary services.  This is true whether they parallel existing lines or not.

In his closing there is one thing the lil' Coal Fella got right, "It's really all about investing in our electrical grid," he said. "We've gone decades without any major upgrades. Rebuilding these lines is a good idea."

Yes, rebuilding these lines is a good idea!  Now put your money where your mouth is, Coal Fella, and join us in our support of Dominion's Alternative One and give up on Allegheny's loser PATH project.
13 Comments
Da Hillbilly
1/24/2011 06:03:38 pm

My,my, my, that lil ol Coal feller sure can spurn a yarn! I find it hard to believe a young man such as doug would continue down this twisted convoluted PATH. He should get out while he still has the chance to start anew and not COMPLETELY riun his reputation for his future endevors. He and "Pinky," remember "Pinky," are two aspiring yopung men on the PATH of destroying their own carreers by staying involved with such evil. Oh we, we all make choices and we all live with the consequences of those choices. Just my random thoughts for the morning.

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Keryn
1/24/2011 06:14:26 pm

Ya think? I thought he was looking a bit haggard in the last TV interview I saw. Don't take the portrait of Dorian Gray out into direct sunlight or it turns into one of those 3-D cards in which the image changes when tilted in different directions.

Hey... got a good Pinky story for ya.... I'll email you later.

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Pam
1/24/2011 06:42:45 pm

I think the Coal Fella should change his name to Pinocchio because I'm sure his nose is a growing. I don't know how some of these fellers can sleep at night, I guess money talks as I'm sure they get paid a big chunk of change.

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Da Hillbilly
1/24/2011 07:54:07 pm

Right on the money Pam, the lil Coal feller is quite the puppet and gets paid handsomely, I'm sure. however, when I have encountered the lil guy, he seems to be making his payroll by playing games on his Blackberry rather than working. His name does seem to pop up every time PATh needs to attempt to spin a story, however, we have too many folks on our side telling the truth to the ratepayers.

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bh link
1/24/2011 08:06:28 pm

The coal feller also failed to note that the "existing line" that PATH would "parallel" is the TrAIL line that Allegheny is still building. I don't think that qualifies as "existing" quite yet.

Also, he claims that PATH isn't a big deal because it is mostly in "remote" areas. Well, I live in one of those "remote" areas. It ain't so remote to my neighbors and me.

"Remote" means in mostly forested areas. "Remote" means destroying permanent forest that produces a crop every forty years and rendering it completely unproductive, forever.

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JustMe
1/24/2011 08:58:45 pm

Even if any of it "parallels" existing ROWs, it still means at least DOUBLING the width. Can anyone estimate the number of acres that are cleared for existing lines v. the number that would be cleared for PATH? I'd love to have those numbers if anyone knows how to come up with them. (Perhaps Google maps might have a tool?)

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bh
1/24/2011 10:32:36 pm

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bh link
1/24/2011 10:35:11 pm

I once did a back of the envelope calculation of 250 miles long and 200 feet wide and came up with 6000 to 7000 acres. That is an underestimate, bcause we know now that AEP/Allegheny want more than 200 feet for their PATH rights of way.

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JustMe
1/25/2011 06:31:39 am

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JustMe
1/25/2011 06:33:56 am

Somewhere in the Frederick County hearings, I believe they talked about a 400 foot ROW. I guess thats another elusive 'fact' we need to pin them down on. I'm sure many curious minds would like to know the answer to this.

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bh link
1/25/2011 06:39:09 am

JM,
According to the RoW agreement recorded in Jefferson County, WV, the land owner gave AEP/Allegheny a right of way with a minimum width of 200' and a maximum width of infinity. Check it out on tThe Power Line -- http://calhounpowerline.com/2010/12/08/landowners-heres-the-deal-a-path-right-of-way-agreement/

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Pam
1/26/2011 07:08:40 pm

We received a letter yesterday from Dominion listing various Open Houses to discuss their rebuild. Jefferson County's meeting is Thursday, February 3 from 5 to 7:30 pm at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel on Flowing Springs Road in Charles Town. One paragraph of the letter in bold states: Please note that Dominion is not involved in the PATH project under development in your area. Dominion's rebuild of it's Mt. Storm to Doubs line is entirely separate from the PATH project. I walked the dog this morning and for the first time in a long time, there was no humming on the 2 power lines near our house. That's unusual, you can always hear them.

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Keryn
1/26/2011 07:37:13 pm

I updated the events page last night... the Open House is on there.

Gosh, Pam, you don't suppose that, even as cold and snowy as it is, the East Coast isn't sucking a bunch of power out of WV? Could this mean that not only don't they "need PATH", they don't even "need" some of the current transmission lines? ;-)

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    About the Author

    Keryn Newman blogs here at StopPATH WV about energy issues, transmission policy, misguided regulation, our greedy energy companies and their corporate spin.
    In 2008, AEP & Allegheny Energy's PATH joint venture used their transmission line routing etch-a-sketch to draw a 765kV line across the street from her house. Oooops! And the rest is history.

    About
    StopPATH Blog

    StopPATH Blog began as a forum for information and opinion about the PATH transmission project.  The PATH project was abandoned in 2012, however, this blog was not.

    StopPATH Blog continues to bring you energy policy news and opinion from a consumer's point of view.  If it's sometimes snarky and oftentimes irreverent, just remember that the truth isn't pretty.  People come here because they want the truth, instead of the usual dreadful lies this industry continues to tell itself.  If you keep reading, I'll keep writing.


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