CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A proposed transmission line that would cut through four West Virginia counties would not provide the state any clear benefits, and its application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity should be denied, a Public Service Commission engineer testified Tuesday.
The written testimony pertains to the NextEra Energy Transmission MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project. NextEra in January applied for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for West Virginia portions of the MARL, a roughly 107.5-mile, 500,000-volt transmission line proposed to cross Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia.
West Virginia portions of the project would include about 58.9 miles of the line and related facilities in Mineral, Hampshire, Monongalia and Preston counties.
NextEra said it does not comment on ongoing regulatory proceedings.
“Aside from the project’s rate impact, hundreds of West Virginia property owners stand to lose substantial use of portions of their property and thousands more stand to experience the viewshed impacts of the MARL,” Daniel Egnatoff, an engineer and West Virginia PSC technical analyst, testified in the 58-page filing.
“The most likely outcome of the MARL project not being built is the energizing of fewer data centers in Virginia,” he said.
Egnatoff said NextEra has not proven that “it engaged in the necessary level of diligence regarding a project of this scale,” and the company “erroneously stated that (American Electric Power) customers would see no rate impact from the project.”
When asked if the MARL would provide material, useful benefits for West Virginia, Egnatoff’s answer was simply “no.”
He said he visited roughly 80 landowners at their properties, all of which were located within a study area for the proposed transmission line.
“The vast majority of these (landowners) were directly impacted by the MARL project, but others were concerned about viewshed or traffic impacts and did not have directly-impacted property,” he said.
Nearly all impacted landowners indicated that property located near high-voltage transmission lines is typically worthless, and some folks said even the existence of NextEra’s application “had chilled the market for parcels or properties near the path of the proposed line,” Egnatoff said.
Multiple landowners reported feeling trapped on their property, as its value would decrease if the MARL passed through, he said.
“None of the landowners spoke to during field work indicated that (a financial) offer had been made on their property,” Egnatoff said.
“While not all of these landowners will necessarily wish to sell their property and live elsewhere, those that do should be given the option.”
As of Sept. 4, the PSC received 7,902 public comments in protest of the MARL project and 153 comments in support, he said.
In a press release Thursday, West Virginians Against Transmission Injustice President Tony Campbell said Egnatoff’s testimony “is a major development” in the MARL case.
“PSC staff has independently examined the evidence and reached the same fundamental conclusion West Virginians have been raising for months: the justification for this project does not withstand scrutiny,” Campbell said.
“Nearly 8,000 people have formally protested this project, testimony has now come from all impacted counties and PSC staff has recommended denial,” Campbell said. “WATI agrees. The PSC should deny the MARL application.”