Pennsylvania regulators raise concerns over high voltage line that would cut through state

(WHTM) — State regulators are raising concerns over a proposed 222-mile, nearly $2 Billion pole line proposed through Perry, Juniata and Mifflin counties, stretching to West Virginia.

NextEra Energy and Exelon are proposing a new 765kV transmission line between the Moundsville area in West Virginia’s northern panhandle and the New Bloomfield area of Perry County.

The two power companies are seeking federal approval for financial incentives to develop the pole line, which led to concerns from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

In a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the PUC said the project has not gone through state-level review processes in Pennsylvania or West Virginia and, therefore, should not be eligible for such financial incentives.

“It is unreasonable for ratepayers to subsidize months and possibly years of developmental timelines. Adder incentives put the cart before the horse,” the PUC said in its filing.

NextEra and Exelon created a joint company to handle the project that does not have Certificates of Public Convenience in either state, the PUC said, which is required if the company were to exercise eminent domain. The lack of eminent domain power “could lengthen or jeopardize its project,” the PUC said.

The project, the PUC said, would involve construction of new transmission infrastructure through largely undeveloped corridors, which they said would raise both cost and siting considerations.

In a January letter to PJM Interconnection, which handles the electrical grid for the Mid-Atlantic region, the two companies contended that the pole line, which they billed a “high-voltage backbone,” is needed “to maintain reliable service under plausible future conditions.”

They said the project is a “systemic reliability solution, not an incremental fix” as more than a dozen 500 kV pole lines face overloads and more than 3,500 MW of additional power load is expected in east-central Pennsylvania through the early 2030’s.

PJM approved the project in February despite opposition from Pennsylvania regulators.

The Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate raised concerns over the project, writing a letter to PJM in January asking it to deny it.

The project, the OCA said, was selected to accommodate new projected data center demand in PPL Electric Utilities territory and the removal of offshore wind development in New Jersey. The OCA contended that the project is “premature given rapidly evolving circumstances around data center AI load, incomplete assumptions, and process concerns.”

The PUC raised similar concerns at the time, urging PJM to seek alternative solutions including generation solutions in the PPL area.

“The reliability need triggering the 765 kV backbone project, likely to be built over the course of many years, will not be materially harmed by a stepwise approach to ensure full competition and least-cost results,” the PUC said.

The project, which is still in its early stages, would include multiple new substations, including one near the current Juniata Substation just outside of New Bloomfield, Perry County. From there, 108-miles of pole line will be built through Perry, Juniata, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Blair, and Cambria counties parallel to an existing 500 kV pole line.

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NextEra and Exelon hope to have the line operational by 2031 if all regulatory hurdles are cleared.

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