CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The power grid where West Virginians get their electricity took center stage in second day of testimony before the state Public Service Commission on the MARL transmission line project.
NextEra Energy wants the PSC to certify the project that would allow the company to construct part of its 107.5-mile, 500-kilovolt high-voltage power line through four Mountain State counties, Monongalia, Preston, Mineral and Hampshire.
The PSC, interveners and attorneys questioned the senior director of transmission planning for PJM Interconnection, Dr. Sami Abdulsalam.
Abdulsalam said the MARL would help prevent failures in the Mountain State by adding capacity to the overall grid and upgrading transmission facilities. Using an example of an interstate highway, he said the MARL will take some of the load off the current grid, adding resiliency.
“But, if the line is constructed, the outage of any of the existing infrastructure facilities will not cause or lead to the catastrophic failure you are referring to in your comment,” Abdulsalam said.
Kent Hunter, an intervener from Monongalia County, brought several examples of transmission line failures that have caused damage, brush fires, and have fatally injured livestock animals. Hunter expressed concerns that the proposed 500 kV would not be properly maintained, leading to additional costs, damage, and inconvenience for landowners along the route.
“That’s why any transmission line owner who develops any transmission equipment within PJM is held to a specific operational, reliability, and resiliency standard based on which they collect some of the rate base that they are collecting on an annual basis,” Abdulsalam said.
PSC Chairman Charlotte Lane brought up the retirement of fossil fuel facilities in Virginia that was sped up with the signing of the Virginia Clean Economy Act by then-governor Ralph Northam. The law sets the path for utility providers operating in the state to provide 100 percent clean electricity by switching to renewable energy and establishing grid-scale battery storage capacity.
“In isolated areas where the imbalance or the need is solely driven because of the retirement of a generation facility, the answer would be yes,” Abdulsalam said. “But in our case, it’s not only the retirement of facilities but also the increase in load.”
In his testimony, Abdulsalam did confirm another 765Kv transmission line through West Virginia will likely be needed in the future as demand continues to climb. Regional transmission restrictions and sooner than expected power demands coming online are driving the earlier than expected need.
“But, to be truthful and transparent with you, yes, we have a plan for one additional 765 kV line that will go through West Virginia,” Abdulsalam said.
PJM has said typical demand on the grid has grown by about 1 percent annually, and that figure has grown to about 4 percent each year. The U.S. Department of Energy reports data centers used about 4.4 percent of the electricity generated in the US in 2023. Those numbers will continue to grow and push demand even higher over the next ten years.
“If the needs continue to rise, we either adjust the need or compliment it,” Abdulsalam said. “What has been proven through a conservative window in 2024 is we need the 765 kV and the 500 kV development.”
Testimony is scheduled to continue Wednesday at PSC headquarters in Charleston.