Frederick County court decision detrimental to PATH power line

Posted: 3:18 pm Wed, February 22, 2012
By Associated Press

FREDERICK — A Frederick County judge is affirming a decision blocking a key component of a proposed multistate power line.

Circuit Judge Edward Dwyer issued his opinion Wednesday in a case involving the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline.

He affirmed a local zoning board’s denial of Potomac Edison’s plan to build an electrical substation on 150 acres near Mount Airy.

The company argued that the substation is needed for a proposed, 275-mile transmission line across parts of West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland.

Work on the project was suspended last year because the economic slowdown decreased demand for electricity

Potomac Edison is a unit of Allegheny Energy, owned by FirstEnergy Corp, of Akron, Ohio. The PATH project is a joint venture between Allegheny and American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio.