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wiredInUSA - September 2014
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PPL Corp is planning a 725-mile
transmission system to bring
energy from the Marcellus Shale
natural gas fields to customers on
the eastern seaboard.
The 500kV linewould possibly span
Pennsylvania and reach into New
York, New Jersey and Maryland,
at a cost of between $4 billion
and $6 billion, and it could take
over a decade to build.
“We don’t have a specific
per-megawatt-hour
estimate
right now, but our analysis shows
consumers in these states would
save hundreds of millions of dollars
per year in power costs,” said PPL
Electric Utilities spokesman Paul
Wirth.
A rough map produced by
the company shows a line
running from Pittsburgh through
Pennsylvania’s rural northern tier
and into the New York City region.
A second line branches south
through the Susquehanna River
corridor into Maryland, while a
third spur runs through the Lehigh
Valley and Pocono Mountains
into central New Jersey.
The project requires regulatory
approval, and the company has
begun the process with a
submission
to
PJM
Inter-
connection,
the
regional
coordinator
for
wholesale
energy.
Pennsylvania
Public
Utility
spokeswoman Robin Tilley said her
agency requires an application
that specifies the cost and route
and demonstrates it is the best
option on a set of criteria that
includes safety, environmental
impact and effect on scenery,
historic places, landscape and
wildlife.
If construction begins by 2017,
PPL believes the work could be
complete around 2023-2025.
Multi-state
transmission line
ir I
-
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