Latest news with #RegionalTransmissionExpansionPlan
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents turn out for open house on proposed 105-mile power line from Pennsylvania to Virginia
May 12—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — Several hundred people turned out at the Erickson Alumni Center Monday afternoon for an open house to learn about the proposed NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project. They talked with NextEra employees and viewed the rows of posters displaying the possible routes and how the project will progress. The Link is a proposed transmission project to build a new 105-mile 500-kilovolt transmission line potentially in the following counties stretching from Greene County, Pa., to Frederick County, Va. Depending on the route selected, it could pass through Monongalia and Preston counties, along with Hampshire County and Mineral counties, Allegany Garrett counties in Maryland and Fayette County in Pennsylvania. The project also consists of building a new 500 /138-kV substation in Frederick County, Va. PJM Interconnection, the regional 13-state power grid operator, selected it among a number of projects, stemming from its long-range Regional Transmission Expansion Plan, to address reliability issues associated with loss of power generation sources, support for new power sources and additional electricity demand in the region. Landowners came with such questions as if the line would cross the land, how they and the areas would benefit, and if they would be fairly compensated for right-of-way easements. Kaitlin McCormick, senior director of development at NextEra explained the project and answered some questions about it. PJM, she said, is forecasting a loss of about 11 gigawatts of generating capacity along with an increase of 7 GW of power demand in the coming years. "This project is one of the projects that was awarded to help make sure that we have safe, reliable power throughout the region." New transmission lines, she said, provide the opportunity to move electricity from where it is available to help offset where some of the retirements are happening. She didn't have an estimated cost for the project but said ratepayers are charged a transmission fee, approved by their state regulators (the Public Service Commission for West Virginia), on their monthly bills. On the costs, PJM said, "Regional transmission solutions benefit all customers in the PJM footprint." Costs will be allocated through a cost allocation methodology approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. NextEra, McCormick said, worked with a consultant to support a routing study for the project, including environmental and natural resource constraints, and working the state and federal agencies to get their input. "We've been looking at where there are population centers and where there are existing transmission lines or other infrastructure. One of the core tenets of our process is that to the extent that we can, we would like to parallel where there's existing transmission." For most of the route, she said, they will need a 200-foot right of way. They've held a series of open houses — Monday's was fifth and three more are planned, including one at the Bruceton Brandonville VFD in Preston County on Wednesday — to get input from landowners about possible routes and answer their questions. "We have not selected a route yet for this project, " she said, "Our goal is to work with landowners, and to engage them to understand whether or not they have interest, maybe whether their neighbors might have interest, and the goal is to come and to work with the community." A look at the map shows what one NextEra employee called a "spaghetti " of possibilities. Some reach down into Mon and Preston counties, some stay in Greene and Fayette counties before dipping into Maryland. Following the open houses and selecting a route, she said, NextEra is looking to file applications with the PSC and other state's regulators early this fall. A project timeline shows expected state regulatory approvals in spring 2027, start of construction in fall 2029, completion by fall 2031 and lines in service by winter 2031. "We really appreciate the feedback and the engagement from the public, " McCormick said. "Our goal is to have the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link help to provide safe, reliable electric electricity in the region and to support all these local communities in the areas, so we appreciate the feedback." Among the questions landowners asked is how they would benefit from a line passing over their property from Pennsylvania to Virginia. We asked McCormick about the potential benefits. One, she said, is reliable power. Another, high-demand customers will have the opportunity to interconnect — either at the Danville, Md., substation along the Mineral-Allegany line, or at other points they would work out with PJM. And, "there are tax revenue benefits that come in. Here in Mon County, we're looking at $50 million to $100 million over the 40-year life of the project." Landowners along the line will be paid for their easements, she said. And they anticipate several hundred construction jobs during the two-year construction period. Delegates Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, and John Williams, D-Monongalia, were among the local officials attending the open house. Statler said NextEra met with them in Charleston during the legislative session, and learned they want to parallel existing lines as much as possible, and he was at the open house to look at that. And to explore if the new line would benefit existing local power plants. "You've got an open mind." Williams said he came on behalf of a constituent who owns some business property where the line could pass through in Pennsylvania and is concerned. For himself, he said, "The company, the way that they're interacting today, they're being extremely professional answering questions. I've been to a few of these before. I've never seen people so interested in the public input, so I think they're doing a fantastic job with that. I do have some questions on what is this power generation or transmission, rather, what is it going to be used for." Could it be for grid stabilization, do data centers play a role, what would be the power mix feeding the lines. On the topic of data centers, also raised by others at the open house, McCormick said, "PJM's estimates and what they are forecasting holistically is part of what we're looking at." We noted in a report on PJM in January that PJM has warned that a capacity shortage could affect its system as early as the 2026-2027 delivery year, which begins June 1, 2026. Among the factors affecting this are the demand for electricity growing at the fastest pace in years, primarily from the proliferation of data centers, electrification of buildings and vehicles, and manufacturing. NextEra Energy Transmission, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, operates about 2, 200 circuit miles of transmission lines across North America. NextEra Energy Transmission and its subsidiaries developed, designed and constructed transmission projects across 16 states and Canada.
Dominion Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- Dominion Post
Residents turn out for open house on proposed 105-mile power line from Pennsylvania to Virginia
dbeard@ MORGANTOWN – Several hundred people turned out at the Erickson Alumni Center Monday afternoon for an open house to learn about the proposed NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project. They talked with NextEra employees and viewed the rows of posters displaying the possible routes and how the project will progress. The Link is a proposed transmission project to build a new 105-mile 500-kilovolt transmission line potentially in the following counties stretching from Greene County, Pa., to Frederick County, Va. Depending on the route selected, it could pass through Monongalia and Preston counties, along with Hampshire County and Mineral counties, Allegany Garrett counties in Maryland and Fayette County in Pennsylvania. The project also consists of building a new 500/138-kV substation in Frederick County, Va. PJM Interconnection, the regional 13-state power grid operator, selected it among a number of projects, stemming from its long-range Regional Transmission Expansion Plan, to address reliability issues associated with loss of power generation sources, support for new power sources and additional electricity demand in the region. Landowners came with such questions as if the line would cross the land, how they and the areas would benefit, and if they would be fairly compensated for right-of-way easements. Kaitlin McCormick, senior director of development at NextEra explained the project and answered some questions about it. PJM, she said, is forecasting a loss of about 11 gigawatts of generating capacity along with an increase of 7 GW of power demand in the coming years. 'This project is one of the projects that was awarded to help make sure that we have safe, reliable power throughout the region.' New transmission lines, she said, provide the opportunity to move electricity from where it is available to help offset where some of the retirements are happening. She didn't have an estimated cost for the project but said ratepayers are charged a transmission fee, approved by their state regulators (the Public Service Commission for West Virginia), on their monthly bills. On the costs, PJM said, 'Regional transmission solutions benefit all customers in the PJM footprint.' Costs will be allocated through a cost allocation methodology approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. NextEra, McCormick said, worked with a consultant to support a routing study for the project, including environmental and natural resource constraints, and working the state and federal agencies to get their input. 'We've been looking at where there are population centers and where there are existing transmission lines or other infrastructure. One of the core tenets of our process is that to the extent that we can, we would like to parallel where there's existing transmission.' For most of the route, she said, they will need a 200-foot right of way. They've held a series of open houses – Monday's was fifth and three more are planned, including one at the Bruceton Brandonville VFD in Preston County on Wednesday – to get input from landowners about possible routes and answer their questions. 'We have not selected a route yet for this project,' she said, 'Our goal is to work with landowners, and to engage them to understand whether or not they have interest, maybe whether their neighbors might have interest, and the goal is to come and to work with the community.' A look at the map shows what one NextEra employee called a 'spaghetti' of possibilities. Some reach down into Mon and Preston counties, some stay in Greene and Fayette counties before dipping into Maryland. Following the open houses and selecting a route, she said, NextEra is looking to file applications with the PSC and other state's regulators early this fall. A project timeline shows expected state regulatory approvals in spring 2027, start of construction in fall 2029, completion by fall 2031 and lines in service by winter 2031. 'We really appreciate the feedback and the engagement from the public,' McCormick said. 'Our goal is to have the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link help to provide safe, reliable electric electricity in the region and to support all these local communities in the areas, so we appreciate the feedback.' Among the questions landowners asked is how they would benefit from a line passing over their property from Pennsylvania to Virginia. We asked McCormick about the potential benefits. One, she said, is reliable power. Another, high-demand customers will have the opportunity to interconnect – either at the Danville, Md., substation along the Mineral-Allegany line, or at other points they would work out with PJM. And, 'there are tax revenue benefits that come in. Here in Mon County, we're looking at $50 million to $100 million over the 40-year life of the project.' Landowners along the line will be paid for their easements, she said. And they anticipate several hundred construction jobs during the two-year construction period. Delegates Joe Statler, R-Monongalia, and John Williams, D-Monongalia, were among the local officials attending the open house. Statler said NextEra met with them in Charleston during the legislative session, and learned they want to parallel existing lines as much as possible, and he was at the open house to look at that. And to explore if the new line would benefit existing local power plants. 'You've got an open mind.' Williams said he came on behalf of a constituent who owns some business property where the line could pass through in Pennsylvania and is concerned. For himself, he said, 'The company, the way that they're interacting today, they're being extremely professional answering questions. I've been to a few of these before. I've never seen people so interested in the public input, so I think they're doing a fantastic job with that. I do have some questions on what is this power generation or transmission, rather, what is it going to be used for.' Could it be for grid stabilization, do data centers play a role, what would be the power mix feeding the lines. On the topic of data centers, also raised by others at the open house, McCormick said, 'PJM's estimates and what they are forecasting holistically is part of what we're looking at.' We noted in a report on PJM in January that PJM has warned that a capacity shortage could affect its system as early as the 2026-2027 delivery year, which begins June 1, 2026. Among the factors affecting this are the demand for electricity growing at the fastest pace in years, primarily from the proliferation of data centers, electrification of buildings and vehicles, and manufacturing. NextEra Energy Transmission, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, operates about 2,200 circuit miles of transmission lines across North America. NextEra Energy Transmission and its subsidiaries developed, designed and constructed transmission projects across 16 states and Canada.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PJM selects regional transmission projects to be jointly developed by Dominion Energy, American Electric Power, FirstEnergy
Companies will jointly develop transmission projects in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland to reliably serve the region's growing power demand Needed transmission reliability investments will also increase the grid's resiliency and capacity to support new generation Projects are in the early stages of development, with more detailed plans for permitting, regulatory approvals and public participation expected in the coming months RICHMOND, Va., February 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regional grid operator PJM Interconnection has selected several electric transmission projects that will be jointly developed by Dominion Energy, American Electric Power Company through its Transource Energy affiliate and FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC across multiple states within the PJM footprint. The companies jointly proposed the projects through PJM's Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) Open Window process in September 2024, and yesterday they were awarded by the PJM Board of Managers. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates the transportation of wholesale electricity across the 13-state region that includes Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. The companies will develop the projects through the recently formed Valley Link Transmission Company, LLC joint venture. The innovative collaboration will leverage the companies' collective expertise and resources to deliver comprehensive and cost-effective solutions that address the region's growing power needs. After a lengthy review process, PJM determined the joint venture's proposed projects, among others, best met the reliability needs of the grid. The projects will support economic development while ensuring every customer has the energy they rely on every day. "These projects are essential for the economic vitality of our region, the reliability of our grid and the everyday lives of our customers," said Ed Baine, President of Utility Operations and Dominion Energy Virginia. "These are comprehensive solutions needed to reliably serve the growing needs of our customers, and we thank PJM for their thorough review." "By leveraging the collective expertise of our three companies, we have the opportunity to build robust transmission facilities that will address documented reliability concerns on the regional power grid," said Mark Mroczynski, President, Transmission at FirstEnergy. "While we're in the very early stages, we look forward to engaging with communities and stakeholders in the months ahead to discuss the need for these projects and listen to the ideas and concerns of our customers." "AEP has decades of experience with projects of the size and scope needed to serve the unprecedented growth in energy demand," said Bob Bradish, senior vice president, Regulated Infrastructure Investment Planning for AEP. "This joint venture is a unique solution to addressing the needs of our customers and ensuring long-term reliability and continued economic growth opportunities in the region." The selected projects include: Building approximately 260 miles of 765-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and two substations between Putnam County, West Virginia and Frederick County, Maryland. Building approximately 155 miles of 765-kV transmission line and a substation between Campbell County, Virginia and Fauquier County, Virginia. Building a new substation in Caroline County, Virginia. The projects are in the early stages of development and do not have a firm time frame yet for permitting, regulatory approvals and construction. Following PJM's recent awards, the companies will advance the development of project details, which includes assessing potential routes and conducting thorough environmental studies. The companies are committed to collaborating with residents, local governments and other stakeholders in the project communities at every stage of the process. Community engagement is crucial for making informed decisions that reduce or prevent potential impacts. In addition to the jointly developed projects, PJM selected several other transmission projects that will be developed individually by each of the three companies in their service areas. About Dominion Energy Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va., provides regulated electricity service to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and regulated natural gas service to 500,000 customers in South Carolina. The company is one of the nation's leading developers and operators of regulated offshore wind and solar power and the largest producer of carbon-free electricity in New England. The company's mission is to provide the reliable, affordable, and increasingly clean energy that powers its customers every day. Please visit to learn more. About AEP Our team at American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) is committed to improving our customers' lives with reliable, affordable power. We are investing $54 billion from 2025 through 2029 to enhance service for customers and support the growing energy needs of our communities. Our nearly 16,000 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electric transmission system with 40,000 line miles, along with more than 225,000 miles of distribution lines to deliver energy to 5.6 million customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 29,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity. We are focused on safety and operational excellence, creating value for our stakeholders and bringing opportunity to our service territory through economic development and community engagement. AEP participates in the competitive transmission space through Transource, a jointly owned transmission company with Evergy, Inc., headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. About FirstEnergy FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving more than six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries, which include FirstEnergy Transmission, LLC (FET), operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at and on X @FirstEnergyCorp. Jointly owned by FirstEnergy and Brookfield Super-Core Infrastructure Partners, FET is the equity investor in Valley Link Transmission, LLC. FET owns and operates American Transmission Systems Inc. (ATSI), Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission (MAIT) and Trans-Allegheny Interstate Transmission Line Inc. (TrAILCo.) News Category: Virginia & North Carolina Forward-Looking Statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those included in these statements. These factors are identified in Dominion Energy's Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Dominion Energy refers readers to those discusses for further information. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Dominion Energy undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date on which it is made. View source version on Contacts Dominion Energy: Jason Williams, 804-292-4929, FirstEnergy: Will Boye, 301-790-6420, wboye@ American Electric Power: Scott Blake, 614-716-1938, ssblake@ Investor contacts: Dominion Energy: David McFarland, 804-339-1173, FirstEnergy: Karen Sagot, 330-761-4286, ksagot@ American Electric Power: Darcy Reese, 614-716-2614, dlreese@ Sign in to access your portfolio
