TrAIL Project - (proposed line from SW Penn through WV to Northern VA)

STATUS: In progress, with opposition.

OPPOSITION: Sierra Club; Stop the Towers; Energy Conservation Council; Piedmont Environmental Council

PROSPECTS: Indeterminate

BACKGROUND: The Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line Company (TrAILCo), a subsidiary of Allegheny Energy Inc., plans to build a new 500-kV transmission line extending from Southwestern Pennsylvania to West Virginia to Northern Virginia. The project has been named the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line (TrAIL). The company says the project is necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity in the Mid-Atlantic region that may cause overloading on Allegheny Power's transmission system; if these potential problems are not addressed, it could result in blackouts, rolling blackouts and brownouts for customers in Allegheny Power's transmission zone as early as 2011. The project has a targeted completion date of June 2011. The cost estimate for TrAILCo's portion of the project is $820 million. In spring 2007, TrAILCO filed for authorization to build the line with state utility commissions in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. In fall of 2007, public input hearings were held to allow for interested parties to comment on the line. In fall of 2007, public input hearings were held to allow for interested parties to comment on the line. Evidentiary hearings were conducted in early 2008, and state regulators in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia approved construction of the line later in the year. TrAILCo is continuing its pre-construction activities, such as right-of-way acquisition, permitting and engineering activities in all three states. Construction of the line will begin when TrAILCo has secured the necessary permits and approvals from federal and state authorities. The construction phase will last about two-and-a-half years, with TrAIL targeted for completion by June 2011. Since the project's inception, various citizen groups have come out in opposition to the project including Stop the Towers, Energy Conservation Council, and the Piedmont Environmental Council. Other opposition includes the Sierra Club, who says the line is not needed and that TrAILCo has overlooked significant adverse environmental impacts and failed to consider the opportunities to reduce demand through energy conservation. SOURCES: TrAIL (http: //www.aptrailinfo.com/); Stop the Towers (http: //www.stopthetowers.org/); Energy Conservation Council; (http: //www.energyconservationcouncil.org/affiliates.html); Piedmont Environmental Council (http: //www.pecva.org/anx/index.cfm); Sierra Club (http: //westvirginia.sierraclub.org/newsletter/archives/2008/03/a_006.html);