Pennsylvania businesses and citizens have an urgent need for improved electric transmission infrastructure or they could face rolling blackouts in just a matter of years, according to a new coalition called Pennsylvanians for Reliable Power.

That was the message of state and national electric industry experts, along with representatives from Pennsylvania business and labor organizations, who held a news conference in Harrisburg today to sound the alarm on the need for updated electric transmission infrastructure in the region.

Gene Barr, Vice President of Political and Regulatory Affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, explained that the need for the improvements is at a critical level in the state.

“Energy is the lifeblood of commerce. Therefore these infrastructure improvements are crucial not only for the future success of Pennsylvania businesses but for the overall economic viability of our state,” said Barr. “Energy efficiency, alternative energy sources and demand side management are a great start but will only get us part of the way there. We need transmission expansion as well.”

Former Public Utility Commission Chairman John Quain built on Barr’s sentiments by explaining that currently, Pennsylvanians’ demand for energy is outstripping the state’s supply and capacity and it’s now absolutely necessary to invest in improved transmission infrastructure to fix the problem.

“All the pieces of the puzzle must be in place to continue to provide reliable power to Pennsylvania’s businesses and homes. We can’t just focus on generation and demand-side management, because generation means nothing if we don’t have reliable transmission lines in place,” said Quain. “Waiting three years to see if demand-side management works is not an option, because by that time it will be too late.”

David Taylor, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, described how the 2003 electricity blackout, which started in Ohio and spread across the northeast U.S. in a matter of seconds, cost billions of dollars in economic loss. The blackout taught everyone that the nation’s power grid is becoming much more complex, interconnected and congested, he added.

“Right now we have a chance to deal with our energy problems before there is a catastrophic failure,” said Taylor. “Currently, manufacturing is a strong industry in Pennsylvania, providing about 414,000 jobs statewide. In order to maintain and create new jobs and overall competitiveness in Pennsylvania’s business climate in the future, we must fight for reliable electricity infrastructure in our state. There would be a huge cost involved if we fail to act now.”

Robert O. Hinkel, former General Manager for PJM Interconnection Association -- the independent organization that operates the regional electric grid that includes Pennsylvania -- explained that regional and national energy industry experts have concluded that additional power lines are needed in the Mid-Atlantic region to prevent black-outs and brown-outs in the future.

“Our job, first and foremost, is to make sure we maintain energy reliability in the region. PJM has learned through our planning process that additional transmission lines are needed by 2011 or Pennsylvania will face serious reliability issues,” said Hinkel.

“Additionally, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a report in October highlighting the strong need for additional transmission investment in the region in order to keep pace with the nearly 18-percent growth in electricity demand that is expected over the next decade.”

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.

A complete list of coalition members and more information is available at the Pennsylvanians for Reliable Power website.

NewsClip: Coalition Sees Need for More Power Lines

2/1/2008