Power line route chosen

Path avoids Milford, Shohola

By TOM KANE

ALLENTOWN, PA - After an extended study process that included 10 public input workshops throughout the region, PPL Electric Utilities has chosen Route B as the route for the Susquehanna-Roseland power line project through Pennsylvania.

This route will run north from Berwick, PA, past Wilkes-Barre and Scranton, then east to Hawley and southeast to Bushkill where it will cross the Delaware River. It follows existing power lines for almost its entire distance.

The New Jersey portion of the power line from the river to Roseland, NJ will be built by Public Service Electric and Gas Company.

Of the three proposed routes-A,B, and C-the A route was the one most opposed by businesses and residents of Milford and Shohola, where it was to traverse the Delaware River north of Milford through the Kittatinny Canoes campground. Many residents of both communities displayed numerous signs along local roads expressing objections to the route.

Ninety-five percent of Route B will run along existing rights of way, but with the proposed 250-foot tower, much of the route would be widened from approximately 150 to 200 feet. The line runs through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area.

Route C would have crossed the river near Martins Creek, north of Phillipsburg, NJ and Easton, which was the route most favored by Milford, Shohola and New Jersey businesses and residents.

“Two of our main goals were to minimize the impact of this project on residents near the line, and on the environment,” said David E. Schleicher, a PPL vice president. “We are convinced that this is the best route to accomplish those goals while providing very real reliability benefits for electric customers in eastern Pennsylvania and throughout the region.”

The company has stated in the past the importance of the 500-kilvolt power line to handle increasing customer demand for electricity that could otherwise lead to overloads, and even blackouts, on the regional power grid.

The company must ask the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to approve the route in an application that is expected to be filed in the fourth quarter of 2008. The PUC review process, which also includes input from the public, could take as long as a year. The line is scheduled to be in service by May of 2012.