The Department of Energy has moved a step closer to designating a swath of Virginia as part of a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor in the Mid-Atlantic region, one of two in the country. (See DOE press release.) The practical import: If Dominion gets turned down by the State Corporation Commission in its bid to build a high-voltage electric power line through the northern Virginia piedmont, it could appeal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the grounds of national interest.
Here’s DOE’s argument: Transmission constraints are limiting electricity flows on key trunk lines in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection, which Virginia is tied to. As a result, major population centers in the Mid-Atlantic cannot obtain cheap electricity from the Midwest and have to rely upon high-cost generating capacity available locally. Those higher costs are passed on to consumers. By 2011, the reliability of the electric supply could be called into question in the Washington/Baltimore metro area.
Declaring much of the Mid-Atlantic to be part of a “national interest” transmission corridor will facilitate the construction of new transmission lines. In other words, the feds are riding to the rescue of states who have either (a) restricted the use of low-cost nuclear power, or (b) have been unwilling or unable to curtail the growth of electricity demand. And they will do so by running a major power line through Virginia.
Dominion is justifying the transmission line by citing increasing electric consumption in Northern Virginia. However, the Corridor designation, if accepted, would overrule any policy that Virginia might decide to adopt to deal with its challenges. The Commonwealth is close to wrapping up its first statewide energy plan, which could well include measures to encourage conservation and renewable fuel sources as tools to balance supply and demand. But if the state rejects the transmission line, Dominion can appeal to FERC on the basis of the claim that its power line is in the “national” interest.
If Dominion can’t use eminent domain to acquire land for the transmission line from the state, it soon will have the option of getting it from the feds.
Update: Attorney General Bob McDonnell responds as follows:
“I recognize the need for ensuring sufficient electric transmission infrastructure on the East Coast. However, the federal government must balance its desire for national solutions against the need for states to play the central role in siting electric transmission lines. These projects can have significant impacts on local communities, including sites that have significant historic, scenic, and cultural importance. The states are best suited to understand these impacts, and make decisions in the public interest with full participation from affected citizens.
… I continue to have serious concerns about the actions of the Department of Energy. There must be a greater role for both the states and their citizens in decisions involving electric transmission siting.
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