On October 2, 2007, the US Department of Energy designated more than 116,000 square miles (from upstate New York through Ohio) for inclusion in the mid-Atlantic National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.

National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) status is a new designation created by Section 1221 of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, and was designed to speed up siting of interstate transmission lines. Designation of an NIETC gives electric utilities access to federal eminent domain, through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, for the siting of high-voltage transmission lines.

NIETC designation undermines previously enacted federal, state and local policy decisions designed to maintain and protect public values. Of particular concern is the lack of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review prior to the corridor designation by the Department of Energy. NIETC designation may also undermine efforts by state government to implement an effective state energy plan and ignores other considerations such as new technologies, distributed generation, demand response and conservation which could be used to meet future demand.

View the NIETC Timeline