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Public Lost in Transmission?
The Piedmont Environmental Council is urging area residents to speak out against newly proposed national corridors that would allow electric utility companies federal eminent domain authority.
The U.S. Department of Energy identified the possible National Interest Electric Transmission, or NIET, corridors last month and is hosting a public meeting next week in Arlington.
Findings from a DOE study identified northern Virginia and southern California as crucial areas of transmission congestion.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorizes the DOE to designate national corridors based on these findings.
The Mid-Atlantic Area National Corridor would affect eight states on the East Coast, including Virginia from Rockingham County to Arlington.
PEC spokesman Bob Lazaro calls the single meeting for Virginia “disgraceful.” It is one of three meetings in the eight-state area.
“We are calling on DOE to hold a meeting in every county that is affected in all of northern Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and every community that is impacted,” Lazaro said. “If they were really interested in public comment, they would host a meeting in every affected county.”
If adopted, NIET corridors could grant electric utility companies unprecedented federal power of eminent domain to acquire private property to build transmission lines.
With Dominion Power’s plan to build a 500-kilovolt-power line through Culpeper, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties, the proposed NIET corridor could impact the Piedmont within one year.
The State Corporation Commission is now considering Dominion’s proposal and is scheduled to take about one year before issuing a decision. If the state denies the proposal, Dominion could go directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a permit authorizing construction of its project.
The federal procedure would require an analysis of alternative routes for proposed transmission lines, including route realignments necessary to avoid adverse effects on the environment, landowners and local communities.
“DOE is not directing the construction of new transmission in a certain area, nor is it determining the route for any proposed transmission project,” a news release states. “DOE is not asserting that additional transmission capacity is the only solution to resolve electricity problems in these regions.”
Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said the Richmond-based company supports the corridors but is not thinking about the possibility of obtaining federal authority if the state denies its project.
“We are committed to the state process,” he said. “We’ve been very successful in using this process whereas the NIETC process is still in the draft form. … It is not something that right now we are even considering because it would place our customers at too high a risk for their reliable service.”
Norvelle said the SCC is currently considering 14 Dominion projects. With the possible exception of one project in the early ’80s, Norvelle said the state has never denied a Dominion proposal.
“I think that speaks to the seriousness with which we take these applications,” he said. “We seek these permits because these power lines are needed and they are needed for our customers and to make sure their service remains reliable.”
Norvelle said Dominion needs its 500kv power line by 2011 to prevent rolling blackouts that could occur without more capacity. Since Dominion’s April filing, the SCC has yet to set up a series of hearings on the project.
The public comment period for the national electric corridors lasts about 60 days. People can submit comments online or attend the meetings.
Lazaro said the DOE is “disenfranchising the public” by holding a meeting during the workday in Arlington, which is inconvenient for people living in other affected Virginia counties.
“The people of Culpeper deserve to have the DOE come to their community and say, ‘This is why we want utilities to have the power to condemn your house, your backyard and your farm,’” Lazaro said.
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