The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) held a hearing to decide whether the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project is needed and whether the commission should accept Potomac Edison as the legal entity for the application. PATH is a 275-mile, $1.8 billion joint venture between Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power that would create an electric transmission line from West Virginia, through Virginia and about 20 miles into Maryland, ending in a large substation near Mount Airy. Potomac Edison, a division of Allegheny Energy, would hold a 5 percent stake in the project, with PathMaryland, a limited liability corporation based in Delaware, controlling the rest.The Center supports the PATH project.
Potomac Edison cannot fund the project alone and that is why PathMaryland is needed with a 14 percent return on investment guaranteed by PJM, which oversees power needs in the region.
Potomac Edison would construct the project in Maryland, as well as operate and maintain the line and substation. Potomac Edison submitted its latest application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, the document needed to start the project. The Maryland PSC oversees operations of Potomac Edison and Allegheny Power in Maryland, though the parent company, Allegheny Energy, is based in Pennsylvania. (Frederick News Post, 6/4/2010)
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