Energy giants propose new transmission lines across PJM states

(UI) — Dominion Energy Virginia, American Electric Power and FirstEnergy Corp. have entered into an innovative joint planning agreement to propose several new regional electric transmission projects across multiple states within the PJM footprint.

The innovative collaboration comes at a time when efficient and cost-effective regional transmission development is essential and encouraged by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the independent federal agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity.

The PJM region, managed by PJM Interconnection, oversees the electricity grid and wholesale power markets across 13 states, including Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C., serving more than 65 million people.

Power demand in the PJM region is growing at an unprecedented pace due to rapid expansion of energy-intensive industries such as data centers, the electrification of transportation and heating, and increased manufacturing onshoring. At the same time, the region's power generation mix is changing as legacy generation is retired and more renewables are added to the grid.

"This dynamic environment requires more regional collaboration to develop large-scale 'backbone' transmission infrastructure that spans across the areas served by our three companies," Ed Baine, president of Dominion Energy Virginia, said. "By leveraging the expertise and resources of three industry leaders whose transmission zones border one another, we're better able to develop superior and more cost-effective solutions required to effectively resolve reliability issues across the PJM region. These projects are more comprehensive and will be more effective than what each of our companies would be able to develop individually."

The companies jointly proposed the projects through PJM's Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) Open Window process in September. PJM is the regional transmission organization that coordinates the transportation of wholesale electricity across the 13-state region that includes Virginia. The proposed projects include several new 765-kV, 500-kV and 345-kV transmission lines in Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia.

The projects remain in the early stages of development. If selected by PJM, the companies would then undertake an extensive, multi-year process to select routes, perform environmental studies, engage with communities, obtain state and local permitting and build the projects.

In addition to the joint proposals, each of the three companies have also submitted individual proposals for other transmission projects consistent with how each company has participated in past PJM open windows.

"Energy-intensive industries, electrification and the energy transition all rely on a robust power grid," Mark Mroczynski, president of FirstEnergy Transmission, said. "By drawing upon the combined experience of three leading transmission developers, we can take the proactive steps needed to build new infrastructure that will ensure our communities have the power they need for sustained health and economic growth in the future."

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