EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to note that, per FirstEnergy, Potomac Edison erroneously referred to the Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek Improvement Project as part of the NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Resiliency Link.
MORGANTOWN – Potomac Edison filed notice on Monday with the state Public Service Commission that it plans to file an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a section of a new transmission line.
Potomac Edison – a sister company of Mon Power and a subsidiary of FirstEnergy – tells the PSC that the project will exceed $20 million. This project, Potomac Edison says, is a portion of the Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek Improvement Project.
In its PSC filing, Potomac Edison says this project is part of the MidAtlantic Resiliency Line (MARL) project. But FirstEnergy said on Tuesday that Potomac Energy erred, and it is separate from MARL. Potomac Edison submitted an amendment to its filing Tuesday afternoon correcting the error.
MARL is a proposed transmission project to build a new 105-mile 500-kilovolt transmission line stretching from Greene County, Pa., to Frederick County, Va. Depending on the route selected, it could pass through Monongalia and Preston counties, along with Hampshire County and Mineral counties, Allegany Garrett county in Maryland and Fayette County in Pennsylvania.
FirstEnergy explains that Potomac Edison was awarded the project by regional transmission organization, PJM Interconnection LLC, to upgrade the company’s transmission lines in Frederick County, Clarke County, and Loudon County, Va., and Jefferson County, W. Va.
The work will primarily take place within about 44 miles of existing rights of way, beginning at the Gore Substation in Frederick County. The work will use an existing right of way that traverses east through Frederick County (17.9 miles); Clarke County (0.2 miles); Jefferson County (15.4 miles); and Loudoun County (10.5 miles).
PJM Interconnection selected MARL and the related Valley Link Transmission line that is planned to run from the John Amos plant in Putnam County eastward to Frederick County, Md., among a number of projects, based on its long-range Regional Transmission Expansion Plan, to address reliability issues associated with loss of power generation sources, support for new power sources and additional electricity demand in the region.
In West Virginia, opposition to the MARL line has been widespread – with residents and public officials saying the line will simply move power from Greene County to data centers in Virginia with no direct local benefit.
