CHARLESTON, W.Va. — NextEra Energy Transmission has asked the state Public Service Commission to delay a final decision on its MARL transmission line project until May 22, 2027.
That’s a request for a 77-day delay.
The company also asked the PSC Monday, in a joint filing with the PSC staff, to modify the procedural schedule in the much-watched case.
In the joint motion, the evidentiary hearing in the case would be moved from Oct. 26-Nov. 2 to Jan. 11-18 of next year. The proposed schedule pushes the PSC decision date back from March 6, 2027 to May 22, 2027.
The calls for a delay began to be made by the PSC staff a few weeks ago after NextEra made five changes to the proposed route for the line. The staff expressed concern saying the changes have come after a public hearing period and just weeks ahead of the scheduled evidentiary hearing.
The PSC staff originally recommended either suspending the legal proceedings for two months or dismissing the application entirely for lack of completeness.
In its own filing, the West Virginia Energy Users Group, which represents the state’s largest industrial electricity consumers, agreed there should be a delay.
The Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link, often shorted to MARL, is a proposed 107.5-mile, 500-kilovolt high-voltage power line planned to run from Dunkard Township, Pa., through parts of West Virginia including Monongalia, Preston, Mineral and Hampshire counties and down to Gore, Va.
The project is being considered after PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, identified reliability issues resulting from a loss of power generation sources, support for new power sources and additional electricity demand in the region.
The Public Service Commission has received nearly 6,800 letters opposing the project and less than 200 in support, according to an ongoing count on the PSC’s website.
Monday’s filing of the joint motion to modify the schedule, would reopen the discovery phase of the case but only as it regards the five route revisions. It also calls for an extension of the intervention deadline for the three newly affected landowners to Sept. 30.