Pennsylvanians for Reliable Power this week urged the Public Utility Commission to approve the construction of the proposed Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Recently, Administrative Law Judges Michael A. Nemec and Mark A. Hoyer recommended the PUC not authorize the project.

Members of the diverse coalition – comprised of business, labor and community groups – are hopeful that the PUC will ultimately see the many merits of TrAIL and will vote to officially approve the line in September.

"There's no doubt that the TrAIL project is vital to Pennsylvania's electric infrastructure and will also create many new family-sustaining jobs in our state," said Bill George, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Earlier this summer, the West Virginia Public Service Commission approved construction of the 120-mile portion of TrAIL that will run through their state, and a Virginia hearing examiner delivered a recommendation for approval.

Both determined that multi-state TrAIL was an essential project to provide electric reliability in their states and the Mid-Atlantic region. Despite these decisions however, Judges Nemec and Hoyer ruled last week that Allegheny's TrAILCo had "failed to carry the burden of proof" for the project.

"While the judges stated that an approval of the TrAIL line would reward a lack of foresight, our coalition sees it in a completely opposite light," said Gene Barr, vice president of government and public affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. "Approving such a line would be the incredible foresight our state needs to prevent serious blackouts and other problems in the future. We need to start construction of these lines now and not later – before problems start occurring and our state looses money and possibly jobs."

Barr continued that experts such as the U.S. Department of Energy have predicted that blackouts could occur in our state as early as the next two to three years if new lines are not constructed. In fact, PJM Interconnection – the independent organization that manages the power grid in 13 states including Pennsylvania – determined the TrAIL line was absolutely necessary for the reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses in our region, and mandated its construction.

Although the coalition advocates for others ways to promote reliable electricity – such as investing in alternative energy sources, reducing demand, and building new power plants – they continue to stress that without reliable power lines all other efforts will not be enough to stop the looming reliability crisis.

"Environmentally friendly, alternative energy sources are a part of the long term solution," said Kelly Lewis, president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania. "However, people tend to forget that even alternative energy sources – such as wind – still need new and reliable power lines to distribute that power from where it's generated to the homes and businesses that need it."

Pennsylvanians for Reliable Power is a diverse coalition of concerned industry, labor and community groups formed to educate the community on the future of energy reliability in the state.

For more information, visit the Pennsylvanians for Reliable Power website.

8/29/2008