PPL execs launch publicity push for new power line

Wires will cross the Delaware River,

exact route not yet chosen

By FRITZ MAYER

fritzmayer@riverreporter.com

NARROWSBURG, NY — A new 130- to 150-mile, high-voltage power line is planned for Northeast Pennsylvania, and PPL executives have been making the rounds to media outlets to spread the word. Mindful of controversy other recent powerline projects have sparked, particularly the proposed New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI) project across the Delaware River in New York, PPL executives are promising that the public’s input will be sought and considered.

During a stop at The River Reporter offices on January 24, PPL public relations manager Paul Wirth said, “We do things a little differently than some other companies. We are open and up front, and communicate early and often about these things.”

The line, which will cost between $300 million and $500 million, will run from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County to a substation in Roseland, NJ. PJM Interconnection, the entity that operates the PJM power grid, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey and all or parts of 11 other states, determined that the line is necessary and announced the project in October 2007.

PPL will build the Pennsylvania portion of the line, and Public Service Electric and Gas will build the New Jersey portion of the line. The two lines will meet up at the Delaware River.

Wirth said it has not yet been determined where the line will cross the river. However, concern was raised among environmental groups in October 2007 because a map of the line showed it running slightly above Scranton, then heading due east toward Port Jervis, NY, before turning south to cross the river at the Delaware Water Gap into New Jersey. At the time, a spokesperson for PJM said that the map was produced only for purposes of illustration and did not in any way reflect the ultimate route of the power line.

Wirth said during the site selection process, special weight would be given to the possibility of using existing lines. If that becomes a viable possibility, existing lines would be rebuilt with new poles that could handle both the existing transmission lines and the new ones.

While the electricity for the lines will generally flow from Pennsylvania into New Jersey, Gregory Smith, a transmission expansion manager with PPL who accompanied Wirth, said the line was not specifically being built to bring electricity from one point to another. He said the power line would help upgrade the entire system.

According to PJM, there are 24 lines in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that will begin experiencing overloads as early as 2013. The new line is needed to mitigate the overloads.

Asked if the increasing electricity demand could be met in other ways, such as conservation and the employment of smaller, renewable energy projects, Wirth said those efforts are important but not enough to meet the growing demand.

He said PPL understands that people don’t want to see new power lines, but most households now own multiple televisions, a second refrigerator and growing number of alliances, and the new power line is the only way to meet the growing demand for electricity.

Potential routes for the line should be selected by the spring, after which public hearings will be held. The final route should be determined by September 2008. Members of environmental groups have said they will be following the site selection process closely.

Visit www.pplreliablepower.com for more information.