As some residents of Northeast Pennsylvania continue to protest a proposed nearly 58-mile power line, PPL Electric Utilities filed official plans for the project Friday with the state Public Utility Commission.
In filing the plan for the nearly $200 million Northeast-Pocono Reliability Project, the utility advanced a step in the lengthy process to the next stage - more public comments as the state regulatory arm decides whether to approve the project.
The project will improve electric service for 250,000 people in Northeast Pennsylvania and the Poconos, the company said in a news release. It will involve construction of three new electrical substations and a new 230-kilovolt power line, connecting the new electrical substations to the existing high-voltage grid, strengthening the local electric delivery network.
The project will serve customers in parts of Lackawanna, Monroe, Wayne, Pike, Carbon and Luzerne counties.
View a map of the project HERE
Another need for the project relates to the existing network of 69-kilovolt power lines in this area. No longer adequate to serve customer needs, these lines are up to 40 miles long, exposing customers to more frequent and longer service outages if lines are damaged during storms, the company said.
PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of the Allentown-based PPL energy company, serves about 1.4 million customers in 29 counties.
Now that PPL Electric Utilities has filed the plan with the state, additional public comment will be solicited. The PUC is expected to hold public input sessions in communities affected by the project.
Much of the existing opposition is expected to continue. While the power company says the new power line is essential to provide more reliable service, some residents living along areas where the line would be erected say a better alternative exists.
Throughout the year, PPL held more than a dozen community meetings for residents, business owners and others to ask questions.
Frances Page, a Thornhurst resident and organizer of the grass-roots organization promoting a route for the power line in a more rural area that affects fewer property owners and has less of an environmental impact, sent an email to residents who oppose the project.
"Our group is ready with postcards and signed petitions in support of the alternate Citizens Route," Ms. Page wrote in the email. "It is important that we get a hearing in our area and let others know about the Citizens Route, a better, safer route for the area that is being asked to bear the burden and risk of the (high-voltage) lines."
The route chosen for the power line represents the company's best effort to balance social, environmental and cost impacts while ensuring that PPL can fulfill its obligation to provide reliable electric service, said Stephanie Raymond, PPL Electric Utilities transmission and substation vice president,
"We recognize that there is no perfect route for a power line," Ms. Raymond said. "That's why we are so diligent about seeking and listening to public input and making changes to the project - where we can - to address any concerns that may be raised."
The PUC is expected to take about a year to decide on the line. If approved, work would likely begin in 2014.
Contact the writer: rward@timesshamrock.com, @rwardTT on Twitter.