Capon Valley Coalition

Allegheny Power asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to raise electric rates effecitve June 1, 2007, to pay for building the TrAIL power line.

The filing is 227 pages long (1,897 KB PDF file).

The Capon Valley Coalition is currently reading it and will report our findings soon. In the meantime, feel free to download it and read it yourself. (Good luck with that.)

If you do read it, we invite your feedback. Write us at caponvalleycoalition@yahoo.com.

A delegation from the Capon Valley Coalition met with two staffers at Sen. Robert Byrd’s office on Friday (Feb. 23). Here are their reports:

From Lynn Golemon:

We had a very communicative day yesterday with Senator Byrd’s office. Both with Brian Booth and Paul Gay, who are two of his legislative assistants.

We left with no specific promises, however we did impart much information to them, and they seemed to hear us loud and clear. They assured us that they will pass along our concerns to Senator Byrd.

We were informed that the most impact we will have on Senator Byrd is to encourage individuals to write individual letters, explaining their concerns and the losses they will incur. So – please pass this along to any and everyone you know and ask them to do that.

From John Anderson, chairman of our Federal Outreach Committee:

We met with Bryan Booth and Paul Gay. Both of them spent a lot of time with us, listened carefully and attentively, and I think both will be good to work with.

We asked four things of Senator Byrd and they said they will get back to us about our requests. Our requests were developed in consultation with the lead legal expert working with the Piedmont Environment Council, Lyn Coleman.

Byrd’s staff asked us to draft a letter for Senator Byrd to Secretary Bodman that would pose specific questions to Secretary Bodman. We will do that.

The most impressive things about the meeting to me were the folks from our coalition. Everyone who attended the meeting was articulate, passionate, and persuasive. For me, it is an honor to be a part of such a diverse and intelligent group that cares about so much more than their own personal interests.

I will add additional reports as other members of the delegation report in.

Check back here often for the latest news.

AND WRITE TO SEN. BYRD. Address and writing tips on the “Action” page.

We saw a copy of the newsletter that Allegheny Power sent out Feb. 16 extolling the wonders of TrAIL. If you got a copy, hold your nose. If not, let me reprise a few items:

Need

If TrAIL is not built … “leading independent experts [warn] of blackouts as early as 2011.”

Horse hockey. Give us the data. Let us do our own analysis. Let us see what your “independent experts” — no doubt paid for by Allegheny — considered and did not consider. For instance, did they consider putting a power plant outside Philadelphia? Or Baltimore? Or Washington?

And how much of that energy will stay in West Virginia? Only what oozes off the power lines and makes our pets, our livestock and ourselves glow.

New Maps

They changed them once and “The proposed route filed with state commissions for approval may differ from these routes …” In other words, Allegheny is NOT GOING TO TELL us where the power line will go. A moving target is always harder to hit.

Open Houses

About 1,500 people attended 10 open houses … held between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There’s a great way to ensure that crowds stay small. (We noticed that none of the open houses was held in a mall … where the people were at that time.)

Valued Input

“At Allegheny, we value your input.”

Good. Get your stinkin’ power line out of our state!

Regulatory Filings

Allegheny says it plans to file in “early Spring 2007″ … just after the state legislatures in West Virginia and Virginia go home for the year. Now there’s a coincidence.

We’ll be watchin’ … and waitin’.