Transource midstate opponents say tariffs impact cost of power line

(Undated) — Opponents to the proposed high-voltage transmission lines in Franklin and York counties are questioning the value of the Transource project.

They say the projected savings from the Independence Energy Connection have fallen by more than half, even before figuring in the economic damage from recent tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Transource would erect more than 200 monopoles, each 13 stories tall, from Shippensburg to Ringgold, Md., and string 29 miles of transmission line.  A similar line would run 16 miles through York County and Harford County, Md.

Citizens’ groups have challenged the economics behind the 230 kilo-volt project, and only recently have made their case outside the state agencies that are reviewing the project.

Citizens to Stop Transource in York County, Stop Transpource Power Lines MD in Harford County, Md., and Stop Transource Franklin County have written to regional grid manager PJM Interconnection. PJM originally justified the need for project and in August 2016 contracted with Transource to do the $320 million IEC.

“The merits of this project are dwindling, the costs of the project increasing, and the timeline is slipping,” said the June 30 letter signed by the presidents of the three citizens’ groups – Dolores Krick in York County, Aimee O’Neill in Harford County, Md., and Lori Rice in Franklin County.

Transource officials have said it is not their responsibility to defend the need for the project. PJM stated the need for the project and hired Transouce to find routes.

Proponents say the market efficiency project would eliminate a bottleneck for bringing cheaper electricity from the west to the region.

PJM should withdraw the project before August even though “PJM feels a responsibility to Transource to allow them to fail gracefully at the state level after a protracted review,” according to the letter. Millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent by the two states to review IEC. The citizens will hold PJM responsible for their legal costs.

PJM has been asked to run a new set of numbers about the benefit of the project, but has yet to complete the task, according to Terri Czarski, spokeswoman for the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel.

The cost of construction materials have increased since early 2016 when PJM most recently reviewed IEC costs, according to the citizens’ letter. Steel prices rose 36 percent and aluminum 30 percent, even before tariffs targeted the metals.

The Trump administration in June applied a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum. Newsday reports that steel and aluminum prices from domestic producers have risen by 25 percent in less than two months.

The citizens’ letter to PJM also contends:

• PJM became aware in February that the congestion savings of the project had fallen to $245 million, down from more than $600 million.
• The power load forecast for the project’s target market around Washington, D.C., has decreased and is expected to remain flat for the next 10 years.
• Existing power lines have been upgraded in recent years and have reduced congestion.
• The east section of IEC parallels two newly rebuilt 230kV lines that have room for a second circuit.
• Other utilities, notably PECO, have so little faith in the project that they have not begun preparations for it.
• Surveys have not been completed in Harford County, and the 2018 window for a bog turtle survey has closed.

The letter cites PJM reports and the testimony of Paul McGlynn, PJM’s senior director of system planning, to the OPC in Maryland.

Public Opinion was unable to access the original sources.

The OPC typically does not release documents during discovery, Czarski said. They will become part of the OPC’s testimony to the Maryland Public Service Commission.

“We have not testified yet,” she said. “We’re still in discovery.”

The earliest date for testimony would be mid-November, probably later, she said.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is reviewing the IEC in Pennsylvania. The PUC and the Maryland PSC regulate public utilities in their respective states.