The Death Knell for PATH? Only time will tell.

On Feb. 28, 2011, the regional electric grid manager, PJM, issued a statement saying that it has ordered development of the PATH transmission line to halt.

PJM cited the results of new tests that had been ordered by the Hearing Examiner assigned to the case by the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The new tests required PJM to use the most current economic forecasts and Demand Response Commitments, as well as incorporate potential new generation resources:

“Preliminary analysis reveals the expected reliability violations that necessitated PATH have moved several years into the future. Based on these latest results, the Board has decided to hold the PATH project in abeyance in its 2011 RTEP. The Board further directs the sponsoring Transmission Owners to suspend current development efforts on the PATH project…” ~PJM Statement

This sort of up-to-date, scenario analysis is something that PEC has consistently asked of PJM since 2006. In the PATH case, we were joined by allies at Sierra Club, and countless citizen intervenors across three states. Hats off to the Virginia SCC for ordering the additional tests, and to everyone who has stayed involved, written a letter, passed a resolution, spoken at a public hearing or made a donation to support PEC’s work on energy and transmission.