High Wire Action
Imagine these lines 100 feet from your home or farm.
Those of us who resided in the Eastern Panhandle at the turn of the 21st Century will remember the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH), and The Trans Allegheny Interstate Line TrAIL).
Both of those proposals were for extra high voltage power lines which would transit the Panhandle, carrying electricity to the northeast. While TrAIL was built, PATH (to my mind the more intrusive of the two) was defeated by a strong outcry from many local citizens, who organized and fought like tigers.
With deference to Shakespeare, Alarums! PATH is back, under two aliases. They are MARL (Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link) and Valley Link North.
MARL is to begin in Pennsylvania, not far from Morgantown, WV, and extends to Gore, VA (just west of Winchester). There, an extension (the Gore-Doubs Goose Creek line) will go through the Eastern Panhandle and end up in Loudoun County, VA. Valley Link North is to start near Charleston, WV and go northeast through the Allegheny Mountains to Hampshire County, WV. There it will continue on a path similar to that of MARL, perhaps using the same route.
Each of these lines if built would carry 765 kilovolts of electricity, more than three times the voltage of the existing power lines that transit the Eastern Panhandle. They would be carried on single towers, each of which would be about three times the 55-foot height of the existing A-frame towers.
Each line would require a 200-foot wide easement. Wherever MARL and Valley Link North use the same route, the required easement would be 400 feet.
Unlike the original PATH proposal, MARL and Valley Link North are to deliver power to “Data Center Central” in Northern Virginia. Once again, West Virginia is to be the source of prosperity for folks who live outside our borders.
Valley Link North is a joint venture of Dominion Energy, First Energy and Transource Energy. First Energy is the parent company of Potomac Edison, the power company that supplies Jefferson and Berkeley counties with electricity. All of these entities are “regulated monopolies.” As such, they do not face competition to provide their service to customers, but are guaranteed a profit by the several states in which they operate.
The approximate route for Valley Link North, which was announced a couple of weeks ago, runs through Berkeley County south of Inwood and into Jefferson County south of Summit Point. From there it goes in a southeasterly direction past Rippon, then due east, crossing the Shenandoah River along WV Route 9.
There have already been several public meetings about these proposed lines. Voices Opposing Line Transmission (VOLT), whose name says it all, held an informational meeting in Ranson on June 23. Valley Link North held two of its own informational meetings, one on June 30 in Shepherdstown and the other on July 7 in Martinsburg. There will be more of these meetings in the future, so stay tuned.
Why should we be concerned? One reason is that the law gives power companies the right to take easements on property by eminent domain (“condemnation”). They are required to pay you “fair market value,” but unless you’re willing to take your chance in court, that “fair market value” will be what Valley Link North says it is.
Let’s examine this. If one of the towers is near where you live, and you own your home, the value of that property could be negatively affected. If an easement crosses your property, Valley Link North would be required to pay you the value of the portion of your property included, but only for that portion. For example, let’s say you own a house on a lot that measures 200 feet by 200 feet (40,000 square feet, close to an acre). Let’s say Valley Link North takes an easement of 10 feet on one side of that property, the entire length of that side of the property. Valley Link North would be required to pay you the market value of that 2,000 square feet. Valley Link North would not be required to reimburse you for any decrease in market value for the entire property, even though you now sit within 100 feet of a 765-kilovolt power line on a 160-foot high tower.
Beyond the possible negative effects to individuals and families, what about our communities? How will this project affect agriculture? How will it effect tourism?
An Irish politician, John Philpott Curran, originated (in 1791) the phrase “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” He was right.
