Dive Brief:
- The West Virginia Public Service Commission on Friday denied requests by its legal staff to delay evidentiary proceedings in its consideration of the 107.5-mile MidAtlantic Resiliency Link transmission project. Hearings remain scheduled for Oct. 26 to Nov. 2.
- NextEra Energy Transmission proposed the transmission line in January, aiming to benefit customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. Filings have been made with regulators in all four states and a route is still being finalized.
- The PJM Interconnction in 2023 tapped NextEra to develop the 500-kV project to address the “emerging needs of the power grid.” West Virginia’s summer peak demand is projected to increase 8% to 12% over the next 10 years, according to the grid operator.
Dive Insight:
PSC staff requested to delay the procedural schedule to allow additional time to address concerns around MARL’s route, questions about the need for the new line, and a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could impact the project. NextEra told regulators it agreed to the delay, though it said it may not be necessary.
In June, FERC ordered regional transmission organizations and independent system operators to bolster large load interconnection rules. The MARL project remains necessary and should be unaffected by the FERC order as it is a Regional Transmission Expansion Plan project selected by PJM and “not a network upgrade identified in response to a discrete data center interconnection,” the company told the PSC in comments filed ahead of the commission’s decision.
The PSC denied the request to toll the proceeding, saying “the circumstances presented do not justify extending the existing procedural schedule.” About 60 miles of MARL would run through West Virginia.
A final decision is expected in the first quarter of next year, according to local media reports.
