MORGANTOWN – The Public Service Commission Consumer Advocate Division on Feb. 20 found some shortcomings in NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic’s revised proposed public notice regarding its MidAtlantic Resiliency Link Project (MARL).
Late Friday, PSC staff told the PSC it agrees with CAD’s assessment.
NextEra had filed the “Revised Notice of Filing” in response to PSC staff noting some shortcomings in its original proposed notice. NextEra corrected some of the flaws staff pointed out, but the revision fell short of achieving clarity on some points – including its effects on certain customers’ rates.
And one revision, CAD said, was the surprise addition of another electric utility whose ratepayers will be affected by the construction of the line.
In its Friday filing, PSC staff said it agrees with CAD and recommends the names and voltages of the various existing lines in the vicinity of MARL’s. proposed route be added back into the Notice of Filing, to provide added clarity.
Staff also said the Notice of Filing should be revised to provide the rate impact, in both dollars and percentages, to Appalachian Power Company and Wheeling Power Company customers – the utilities that NextEra added to its revised filing.
CAD had noted that NextEra, in its revised filing, provided dollar and percentage impacts to customers of Mon Power and Potomac Edison, but not percentage impact on commercial and industrial customers.
PSC staff said NextEra should include notice, in both dollars and percentages, to commercial and industrial customers of those companies.
Following the PSC staff filing, NextEra contacted The Dominion Post and said, “We are reviewing the PSC staff’s letter and will respond through the regulatory process. This matter relates to technical updates to the public notice of filing. It’s common for there to be back and forth between the applicant and the WV PSC staff regarding the notice in transmission line siting cases.”
West Virginia residents started submitting letters of support for the project to the PSC on Friday. As of Monday afteroon, letters of support stood at 28, and letters of protest at 3,899.
