Capon Valley Coalition

West Virginia IS included! You can see the map here. (Requires Adobe Acrobat reader.)

The following press release comes from the U.S. Department of Energy Web site today:

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Kevin M. Kolevar today announced the Department’s designation of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (National Corridors) — the Mid-Atlantic Area National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor, and the Southwest Area National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. These corridors include areas in two of the Nation’s most populous regions with growing electricity congestion problems. The Department based its designations on data and analysis showing that persistent transmission congestion exists in these two areas.

In issuing these designations, DOE is carrying out its responsibilities under Federal Power Act section 216, as enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). That law authorized the Secretary of Energy to conduct periodic national electric transmission congestion studies (Congestion Study), and to designate National Corridors if the Secretary determines appropriate.

“These National Corridors serve as an important indication by the federal government that significant transmission constraint or congestion problems exist,” Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. “The goal is simple – to keep reliable supplies of electric energy flowing to all Americans. By designating these National Corridors, we are encouraging stakeholders in these regions to identify solutions and take prompt action.”

The National Corridors are comprised of two geographic areas where consumers are adversely affected by transmission capacity constraints or congestion. DOE has made each National Corridor designation effective for twelve years. The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor includes certain counties in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and all of New Jersey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The Southwest Area National Corridor includes certain counties in California and Arizona.

The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor remains unchanged from the draft National Corridor that the Department published in May of this year; the Southwest Area National Corridor also is the same, except that it no longer includes Clark County, Nevada (see attached maps). After evaluating comments on the draft National Corridors, Clark County, Nevada, was omitted from the designation of the final Southwest Area National Corridor because the county is not a major source of potential generation for the area in the Southwest experiencing critical congestion, nor is it an area with a transmission constraint that would separate the critical area from an identified potential generation source.

The boundaries of the National Corridors extend beyond the immediate areas experiencing electric transmission congestion and also include areas of the country with a wide range of potential sources of electricity generation. State authorities will continue to have primary responsibility for deciding how to resolve transmission congestion problems, evaluating transmission projects, and the siting of transmission facilities.

“Designation of National Corridors confirms that we must tackle our nation’s energy issues on multiple fronts, with multiple pathways,” Assistant Secretary Kolevar said. “To help meet growing demand for electricity with the affordability and reliability we’re all accustomed to, now, more than ever, we must look at electricity generation from a regional and national perspective. Not only must we continue to increase energy efficiency wherever possible and maximize each State’s resources, we must also maintain a consistent supply of electricity because it is integral to our livelihood and our economy as well as our national security.”

After issuing the draft National Corridors earlier this year, DOE consulted extensively with state and local agencies, regional entities, and the public. The Department also opened a 60-day public comment period, held over 60 hours of public meetings across the country, and received and evaluated over 2,000 public comments. The Department’s Report and Order being issued today that designates the two National Corridors discusses and responds to those comments.

Today’s designation builds on DOE’s Congestion Study, issued in August of 2006, which provided analysis of generation and transmission capacity across the U.S. and identified critical areas that need attention to meet growing demand. The most severely congested areas – “Critical Congestion Areas” – were the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions, which were identified as having critical congestion problems that have adverse effects on consumers and local economies. However, today’s designations do not direct the construction of any new transmission facilities, they do not decide whether or where any new electric transmission facilities should be built, and they do not approve or disapprove the construction of any particular proposed new facilities.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue, under certain circumstances, permits for new transmission facilities within a National Corridor. Generally, if an applicant does not receive approval from a State to site a proposed new transmission project within a National Corridor within a year, FERC may consider whether to issue a permit and to authorize construction of the project.

In 2006, FERC issued regulations that stipulate that only those transmission projects within a National Corridor that would significantly reduce congestion into or within the congestion area would be eligible for a FERC permit. FERC also does not have the ability to authorize or order construction of transmission lines over State or federal property within the National Corridors without the consent of the relevant land management agency.

The two new National Corridors will focus attention on the need for action to keep pace with the changing needs of American consumers, and will advance the President’s goal of ensuring a reliable supply of electric energy for all Americans. In addition to this designation, DOE pursues and encourages a number of solutions for meeting future electricity demand, including: implementing energy efficiency measures across the country; developing and encouraging the increased use of clean, renewable energy technologies; developing more local generation; and researching, developing and deploying technologies that optimize operation of the electricity grid.

DOE’s designation of the two National Corridors announced today will be effective on the publication of today’s Report and Order in the Federal Register. Learn more about FERC’s transmission siting policy.

View what will be published in the Federal Register and learn additional information on National Corridors.

Mid Atlantic Corridor Map

It’s not clear how this decision will affect West Virginia.

From today’s Washington Post:

The federal government announced yesterday that it was giving power companies new leverage to force landowners to permit the installation of electric transmission lines.

The Energy Department has declared much of the Mid-Atlantic region, including the District, almost all of Maryland and Northern Virginia, a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor. Energy companies that operate in an area that extends from upstate New York to Washington’s far outer suburbs will now be able to submit power-transmission expansion plans to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission if they are stymied in state and local negotiations. A successful application to FERC would allow the companies to make use of government’s condemnation powers to obtain a right of way.

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“To help meet growing demands for electricity with the affordability and reliability we’re all accustomed to, now, more than ever, we must look at electricity generation from a regional and national perspective,” said Kevin M. Kolevar, the department’s director for electricity delivery and energy reliability. He said that this “entirely new authority” is needed to protect, reinforce and expand the power grid.

Political battles have ignited in many places over proposals for power lines that opponents call unsightly and environmentally damaging. Environmentalists and local activists have opposed a 300-mile line proposed by Pepco Holdings that would stretch from Virginia through Maryland to New Jersey, as well as a 240-mile line sought by Dominion Virginia Power that would extend through parts of Warren, Fauquier, Loudoun and Prince William counties. Both high-voltage lines would pass through parks and near Civil War battlefields.

“I am deeply disappointed in the department’s decision to go forward with this designation,” said U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.). “It makes no sense and has the potential to destroy neighborhoods and desecrate huge swaths of historically significant land. . . . It is almost as if the department didn’t listen to any of the arguments against creating these corridors.”

But energy advocates say the nation’s electricity needs are growing. Energy shortfalls were blamed for the August 2003 power failure that plunged the East Coast into darkness. In the blackout’s aftermath, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which gave the Energy Department authority to override local decisions about power lines if a region’s need for power had reached a “critical” level.
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In the Northern Virginia case, Dominion applied to state officials in April for the right to add the new power line, and the company will continue to seek state approval, said company spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson.

“We do not intend to use the federal process,” she said. “We think it is a state decision, and the state needs to make the decision.”

If the state responds in an “untimely manner,” however, Anderson said, Dominion now could seek to obtain approval through FERC. “It gives us another authority, but it’s not our intention to use that authority,” she said.

Giving power companies the right to go over the heads of local officials is “eminently unfair,” said Robert Lazaro, a spokesman for the Piedmont Environmental Council, an activist group that has opposed the proposed power line.

“For the first time ever, electric utilities will have access to eminent domain condemnation,” he said. “It’s so they can add to their bottom line. There’s a ton of money to be made in energy transmission.”

The government’s use of eminent domain has proved increasingly controversial. In a recent case, the Supreme Court narrowly permitted New London, Conn., to proceed with a plan to use eminent domain to force homeowners to sell their houses to make way for a hotel and restaurant complex that the city said it needed to expand its tax base. After that decision, many states restricted the use of eminent domain to benefit for-profit entities. Eminent domain allows a governmental agency to force landowners to sell whether they want to or not, but requires the government to pay market value for the property.

Kolevar said FERC would only grant eminent domain power if companies prove a legitimate need for a new line, showing that they have a suitable location and that they have encountered unacceptable delays. He said that FERC would not offer companies an “automatic endorsement” and that eminent domain power would be used “responsibly.”