Pennsylvania court issues opinion and order on plans for Transource power lines

Plans to erect two new power lines in the region have run into another roadblock.

Last week's ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court was the latest in a series of decisions against building the two high-voltage lines.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission had previously denied the request by Transource to build the Independence Energy Connection Project in portions of Franklin and York counties. The lines would extend into Washington and Harford counties in Maryland.

Transource appealed.

The court, in a ruling released Friday, upheld the utility commission's decision.

The Franklin County commissioners praised the outcome.

“This project offered no benefits for Franklin County residents or Pennsylvanians generally. It was to be a path to export Pennsylvania’s less expensive power to out-of-state consumers," Franklin County Commissioner Chairman Dave Keller said in a news release issued after the ruling was made public.

Messages to Transource were not immediately returned.

The story so far

In early 2017, Transource proposed the Independent Energy Connection Project to meet demands in the Baltimore and Washington metro area. PJM Interconnection, the organization that manages the electric grid and flow of energy in the mid-Atlantic region, had determined a year earlier an update was needed. 

The project would have two legs. One would run from a new substation in Shippensburg in Franklin County, Pa., to near Ringgold in Washington County, Md. The other would extend from southern York County, Pa., to a site in Harford County, Md.

Franklin County landowners objected. Among other things, they argued that the construction of the line would harm property values, disrupt farming practices and damage the environment.

In denying Transource's application in June, the PUC adopted Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Barnes' ruling from December 2020 that found in favor of property owners. In the ruling, Barnes found that Transource "failed to show need for the project" and that it "will have a detrimental economic and environmental impact."

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She wrote that the project "appears to be a means for a foreign electric transmission provider to gain access to the Washington, D.C./Baltimore metro area while subsidizing its costs through Pennsylvania."

In challenging the decision, Transource said PJM's determination of need is a "requirement that needs to be followed in order to efficiently and reliably operate the regional transmission system."

“New transmission infrastructure is necessary to incorporate new energy sources into the market while maintaining system reliability, and the evidence clearly demonstrates that multi-state regional planning is the most effective way to meet these needs," Brian Weber, Transource senior vice president, said at the time.

'Substantial evidence'

The commonwealth court's 45-page opinion and order released Friday agrees with the utility commission.

It states that the commission's findings are backed "by substantial evidence and support the commission’s conclusion that Transource did not meet its burden of proof" in the matter.

In the end, the court ruled that the commission's decision was "in accordance with Pennsylvania law" and "supported by substantial, credited evidence of record."

'Effective leaders'

After the ruling was made public, the Franklin County Commissioners issued a news release praising the decision. The release included the remarks from Keller, as chairman, and from fellow commissioners Bob Ziobrowski and John Flannery.

Ziobrowski said the ruling “shows that our involvement returned value to the residents of Franklin County."

Flannery said the commissioners opposed the project "because we recognized it offered no benefits for the community but asked our residents to suffer the burdens of it just the same."

G. Bryan Salzmann, one of the attorneys who represented the commissioners, said the group of residents organized as Stop Transource Franklin County played a major role.

"Stop Transource Franklin County’s effective leaders made a big difference in how thoroughly and effectively the case was presented. We share the county commissioners’ pleasure with the outcome — an extremely unusual, if not unique outcome in this type of case," Salzmann said in a news release.

Meanwhile, in Maryland

In July 2020, the Maryland Public Service Commission ruled that Transource could build the power lines in the Free State.

The approval came after part of the eastern leg, from York County, Pa., to Harford County, Md., was rerouted.

The commission ruled that "the Maryland portions of the proposed transmission line project, as reconfigured, will address regional congestion issues as well as Maryland and regional reliability needs while reducing the project’s impacts on Maryland’s agricultural, environmental and natural resources."

Mike Lewis covers business, the economy and other issues. Follow Mike on Twitter: @MiLewis.