Pjm Interconnection

The Hagerstown City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $6,500 to join a regional electricity transmission organization that will oversee the flow of electricity across high-voltage wires, City Light Department Manager Terry Weaver said. The cost could raise customers' bills by less than a few cents, if at all, Weaver said. The city will join PJM Interconnection, he said. This service was previously done by Allegheny Energy. But as part of the federal deregulation process, Allegheny Energy is required to join a regional transmission organization, such as PJM, Weaver said.

About 850 electric customers in Williamsport will soon pay more for electricity as a result of a federal order aimed at streamlining the management of electrical transmission systems. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's order is indirectly linked to the complex issue of state-directed electric deregulation, FERC Spokeswoman Barbara Connors said Tuesday. It's been theorized that deregulation will result in more choice and lower costs for electric customers. Wholesale electric consumers nationwide are buying electricity over greater distances, Connors said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council is floating the possibility of generating all of its own electricity in the future. While further reviewing drafts of its 2007 budget on Monday, the council highlighted several unknowns about the future, including the possibility of generating its own electricity. Council President William McLaughlin urged the council and borough staff to consider the option, which would save the borough $5.7 million a year in a transmission charge from regional organization PJM Interconnection.

TRI-STATE - A new transmission line that would reduce the risk of blackouts as electricity demand increases has been authorized by an organization that coordinates the movement of energy. The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) transmission line would carry 765 kilovolts of electricity from a substation near St. Albans, W.Va., in southeast West Virginia through the existing substation at Bedington, W.Va., to a new substation in Kemptown, Md. The project's approximately $1.8 billion cost will be passed to consumers, but Allegheny Energy spokesman Allen Staggers said the company and American Electric Power, which will share a portion of the new 290 miles of lines, have not determined how the tab will be split.

o Jefferson County protesters plan to tie up traffic CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The developers of a multistate power line asked Friday for state Public Service Commission's approval to build the 280-mile line between West Virginia and Maryland. Developers of the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, said they planned to file similar requests with regulatory agencies in Maryland and Virginia within the next 10 days. Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power and Greensburg, Pa.-based Allegheny Energy have said the 765-kilovolt line is needed to address regional electrical reliability concerns.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Western Maryland will get two chances next week to comment on a proposed high-voltage transmission line connecting southeast West Virginia to Frederick County, Md. Part of the line could go through southern Washington County. The first public information meeting on the $1.8 billion project will be Tuesday in Frederick. The second meeting will be Wednesday at American Legion Post 10 in Boonsboro. At the meetings, utility representatives will talk about the concept of the project and why they think it's needed.

TRI-STATE - Plans are moving forward to build a 290-mile high-voltage power line from southern West Virginia to Kemptown, Md., that would reduce the risk of blackouts as energy demand increases. Allegheny Energy Inc. said Thursday it had finalized a joint-venture agreement to build the line with Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power. American Electric owns the West Virginia utility Appalachian Power. This fall, the companies will begin a year-long study to determine the best route for the line, Allegheny Energy spokesman David Neurohr said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The 10,500 customers of the Chambersburg Electric Department will see their rates go up by about 20 percent by the end of 2008, but the increase is likely to take place in two stages, limiting the "rate shock," according to Department Superintendent Richard Hamsher. Staging the increases will lessen the impact over the course of the year, but electric bills averaged out over 12 months will be "in the neighborhood of 15 percent higher," Hamsher said Tuesday. The bottom line on the electric bill, for the residential customers who paid an average of $81 for the power they used this past July, will be closer to $100, he said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A West Virginia Public Service Commission lawyer moved Wednesday to dismiss an application on a proposed multistate power line saying the project is incomplete and data supporting the venture is outdated. John Auville noted the proposed 765-kilovolt Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, would have a starting point, but no end point since Maryland officials dismissed an application to build the line through 20 miles of that state. Allegheny Energy and partner American Electric Power have proposed building the $1.9 billion, 275-mile line from AEP's coal-fired John Amos plant in Putnam County, across parts of northern Virginia, to a substation near Kemptown, Md. Maryland's Public Service Commission dismissed the application saying the companies created to develop the line were not an electric utility under Maryland law. The ruling gave Allegheny Energy subsidiary Potomac Edison until Oct. 9 to refile the application.

BOONSBORO -- Questions about electrical connectors, power grids and lattice towers were answered with precision. But the question that went unanswered was the one everyone was there to ask. "Where will it go? That's why I'm here," said Sara Gibson, one of dozens of residents who attended an open house meeting Wednesday night at American Legion Post 10 in Boonsboro. The meeting was held by Allegheny Power to discuss a high-voltage power line that is proposed to run from West Virginia to Frederick County, Md. The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH)

Allegheny Power's distribution system is designed to serve its customers on hot summer days, but a string of extremely hot days might cause equipment problems, a company spokesman said Tuesday. Hot days followed by nights that still require air conditioning can lead to transformers getting extremely hot, Allegheny Power spokesman Todd Meyers said. If the equipment doesn't have a chance to cool down, some might malfunction, he said. Two or three days into a heat wave, air conditioning has to work harder than usual to cool off a home because heat can build up in attics, Meyers said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- A West Virginia Public Service Commission lawyer moved Wednesday to dismiss an application on a proposed multistate power line saying the project is incomplete and data supporting the venture is outdated. John Auville noted the proposed 765-kilovolt Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, would have a starting point, but no end point since Maryland officials dismissed an application to build the line through 20 miles of that state. Allegheny Energy and partner American Electric Power have proposed building the $1.9 billion, 275-mile line from AEP's coal-fired John Amos plant in Putnam County, across parts of northern Virginia, to a substation near Kemptown, Md. Maryland's Public Service Commission dismissed the application saying the companies created to develop the line were not an electric utility under Maryland law. The ruling gave Allegheny Energy subsidiary Potomac Edison until Oct. 9 to refile the application.

o Jefferson County protesters plan to tie up traffic CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- The developers of a multistate power line asked Friday for state Public Service Commission's approval to build the 280-mile line between West Virginia and Maryland. Developers of the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, said they planned to file similar requests with regulatory agencies in Maryland and Virginia within the next 10 days. Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power and Greensburg, Pa.-based Allegheny Energy have said the 765-kilovolt line is needed to address regional electrical reliability concerns.

CHAMBERSBURG, PA. -- Richard Hamsher retired Friday after more than four decades with Chambersburg's Electric Department, but his signature light bulb tie will remain on the job. At his retirement luncheon, Hamsher - the Electric Department superintendent since 1986 - handed over the tie to his successor, Ron Pezon. The tie has been a familiar sight at council meetings and special events, such as the dedication of the $20 million Orchard Park generating plant a few years ago. "Richard came here as a co-op student from Drexel University in the early '60s and he's leaving here with his Medicare card in hand," Borough Manager Eric Oyer said.

BOONSBORO -- Questions about electrical connectors, power grids and lattice towers were answered with precision. But the question that went unanswered was the one everyone was there to ask. "Where will it go? That's why I'm here," said Sara Gibson, one of dozens of residents who attended an open house meeting Wednesday night at American Legion Post 10 in Boonsboro. The meeting was held by Allegheny Power to discuss a high-voltage power line that is proposed to run from West Virginia to Frederick County, Md. The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH)

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- Western Maryland will get two chances next week to comment on a proposed high-voltage transmission line connecting southeast West Virginia to Frederick County, Md. Part of the line could go through southern Washington County. The first public information meeting on the $1.8 billion project will be Tuesday in Frederick. The second meeting will be Wednesday at American Legion Post 10 in Boonsboro. At the meetings, utility representatives will talk about the concept of the project and why they think it's needed.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The specific path of a high-voltage transmission line that will run from southeast West Virginia to Frederick County, Md., might not be determined until the end of this year, an Allegheny Power spokesman said Wednesday. That concerns officials and others in Washington County, who are worried they might not have enough time to protest the route if it threatens environmentally and historically significant areas. "We'd love to know where they're proposing to go with it. Right now, we're all sort of stabbing in the dark, trying to keep tabs on what's going on," said Michael C. Thompson, planning director for Washington County.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The 10,500 customers of the Chambersburg Electric Department will see their rates go up by about 20 percent by the end of 2008, but the increase is likely to take place in two stages, limiting the "rate shock," according to Department Superintendent Richard Hamsher. Staging the increases will lessen the impact over the course of the year, but electric bills averaged out over 12 months will be "in the neighborhood of 15 percent higher," Hamsher said Tuesday. The bottom line on the electric bill, for the residential customers who paid an average of $81 for the power they used this past July, will be closer to $100, he said.

TRI-STATE - Plans are moving forward to build a 290-mile high-voltage power line from southern West Virginia to Kemptown, Md., that would reduce the risk of blackouts as energy demand increases. Allegheny Energy Inc. said Thursday it had finalized a joint-venture agreement to build the line with Columbus, Ohio-based American Electric Power. American Electric owns the West Virginia utility Appalachian Power. This fall, the companies will begin a year-long study to determine the best route for the line, Allegheny Energy spokesman David Neurohr said.

TRI-STATE - A new transmission line that would reduce the risk of blackouts as electricity demand increases has been authorized by an organization that coordinates the movement of energy. The Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) transmission line would carry 765 kilovolts of electricity from a substation near St. Albans, W.Va., in southeast West Virginia through the existing substation at Bedington, W.Va., to a new substation in Kemptown, Md. The project's approximately $1.8 billion cost will be passed to consumers, but Allegheny Energy spokesman Allen Staggers said the company and American Electric Power, which will share a portion of the new 290 miles of lines, have not determined how the tab will be split.