CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — Potomac Edison has sent a notice to the Public Service Commission of West Virginia that they will be filing an application later in the year for a transmission line project that affects around 15 miles in West Virginia.
The Gore Doubs-Goose Creek Improvement Project would run from Fredrick County, Virginia, east through Clark County, Virginia, and then into Jefferson County. From there, the transmission lines would continue into Louden County, Virginia and then into Maryland before connecting in Louden County, Virginia again. While separate from the 105-mile Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), the Gore Doubs-Goose Creek Improvement Project would connect to MARL at one point in Fredrick County, Virginia.
The project, which is about 60 miles between the three states, would see more narrow, steel transmission structures standing at 185 feet high be constructed. The current structures in the existing right of way are 65 feet tall on average.
Potomac Edison spokesman Will Boye says adding the taller and more narrow structures will allow them to stay within their existing property.
“That allows us to construct a project within the existing right of way. That means we’re not going to need any additional property rights, and we can do the project within the existing transmission corridor we have right now,” Boye said.
According to Boye, this effort will meet the needs of the customers sometimes affected by unreliable lines.
“Reliability is a huge part of it,” Boye said. “This project is needed to maintain transmission system reliability because there have been some power plant retirements and growing demand in the PJM region,” Boye told MetroNews.
The project was officially awarded by PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission operation that serves over a dozen states. According to Boye, the grid operator identified the need.
“They’ve identified some serious reliability concerns, and this is kind of needed transmission infrastructure that’s going to solve for those concerns that would otherwise impact customers in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and across the footprint,” Boye said.
Boye also says the project will try to meet the needs of a growing region.
“It’s also going to help us accommodate growing demand in the future for electricity by residential and commercial customers,” Boye said.
If approved by the PSC, construction is expected to begin in 2027.