The Winchester Star, August 5, 2008

by Drew Houff

Winchester— A second multi-state power line will be the subject of a public meeting this week in Frederick County.

Allegheny Energy, along with a host of power companies throughout the region, is working to help prevent the possibility of electrical blackouts in the Mid-Atlantic region as early as 2011.

Area residents will get a chance to learn more about Allegheny’s Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) during an open house from 5 until 8 p.m. Thursday at Gainesboro Elementary School, 4651 North Frederick Pike (U.S. 522) north of Winchester.

This is not the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line (TrAIL) proposed to run from Pennsylvania to West Virginia, and then through Frederick County before ending in Loudoun County.

However, the PATH power line would have a similar task as the TrAIL line — helping to provide adequate electricity to the Mid-Atlantic power grid in years to come.

Allegheny Energy’s proposed PATH project would connect a substation near Charleston, W.Va., to another in the Eastern Panhandle of that state, then link to another near Frederick, Md.

On Allegheny’s PATH Web site www.pathtransmission.com, a map shows a number of possible routes for the line, at least two of which would pass through Frederick County.

One proposal would only affect the northernmost tip of the county and the other would traverse a wider portion of northern Frederick County, entering west of Gore and exiting northeast of Gainesboro.

Mark E. Nitowski, a manager of external communications for Allegheny Energy, said in a telephone interview Monday that a single route for the line has not been chosen, and Allegheny officials are still seeking public comments to determine the best route.

“Our open house will allow us to provide information and also to take input,” Nitowski said. “A lot of it is to get people to make suggestions.”

He said PATH is one of the utility projects under way in the Mid-Atlantic region to ensure PJM Interconnection’s power grid continues to provide electricity without disruption.

Another project, the TrAIL line, received a recommendation for approval last week by Alexander F. Skirpan Jr., a hearing examiner for the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

The full SCC will consider Skirpan’s recommendation and make a final ruling.

TrAIL, however, is not the answer to all of the power needs in the region, Nitowski said. “PATH is one of the other lines identified by PJM to ensure power” as the region’s population continues to grow, he said.

Nitowski said PATH, like TrAIL, is designed to follow existing rights of way as much as possible in an effort to limit the impact of the proposed lines on properties.