PATH: NIETC is not Nice
A major stumbling block to stopping PATH is an act – the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor - created by Congress. It must be overturned.
by Abby Chapple
One of the “hidden” problems behind the PATH powerline is the NIETC action taken by the congress in response to brownouts and blackouts
on the Eastern Seaboard.
On October 2, 2007 the US Department of
Energy (DOE) issued an order for NIETC in accordance with section 216(a) of the Federal Power Act allowed under the Energy Policy
Act of 2005.
Although NIETC uses the singular form of the word (corridor
not corridors) there are actually two corridors. One is the Mid-Atlantic National Area Corridor and the other is the Southwest Area
National Corridor. Of course, it is the Mid-Atlantic Corridor that is relevant to PATH. To see maps of this corridor go to http://nietc.anl.gov/nationalcorridor/index.cfm
In a May 2008 press release from the US Department of Energy the government described it this way: "In the face of growing electricity
demand, it is more important than ever to continue to ensure that our energy infrastructure is well-equipped to keep America’s lights
on now and in the years to come,” DOE Assistant Secretary Kevin Kolevar said.
According to DOE the designation of this corridor is “a necessary first step in providing the federal government –through the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) – siting authority that supplements existing state authority.”
Working Against NIETC
West Virginia Sierra Club has been working to combat the effect of NIETC in this state. In its latest newsletter it explains the situation
this way:
“This bill had some beneficial aspects, but also included
incentives for new transmission lines within these designated corridors. Among other things, the bill directed the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission to approve “incentive rates of return” for any investment to develop new lines, even if the lines were never
used, even if the lines were never even built. Hence, Allegheny can not lose. No matter what they spend, they make a huge profit.
The normal discipline of the marketplace has been replaced by a government-mandated shakedown of the ratepayers, and guaranteed profits
for utility stockholders”.
Particularly disturbing is that FERC
can approve a line within a designated NIETC, even if local state agencies denied approval. It will hit everyone’s pocketbook because
FERC has ruled that all ratepayers in the region must share in the cost of the line. This is in spite of the fact that in
What You Can
Do
First, get informed. Keep coming back to this web site www.caaponcurrents.org. Or
you can contact www.westvirginia.sierraclub.org and it’s Energy Committee for detailed fact sheets via jkotcon@wvu.edu.
Second, talk to local politicians, neighbors, and friends. Generate letters of opposition.
Third, ask local legislators to support reforms of state statutes to improve public notification, and assure that any line is actually
needed before asking ratepayers to pay for it.
Most importantly,
contact our Congressional delegation and demand that the National Interest Electric Corridor laws be repealed. Do not allow utilities
to take private property for their own profit. Require that utilities adopt the least costly approach such as energy conservation,
to meeting electricity demand and eliminate the rate incentives that guarantee profits to utilities, especially if the lines that
are not needed.