DEP secretary promotes energy proposal
Saying it would be an “economic train wreck” for Pennsylvanians if legislation weren’t passed to prevent spikes in electricity rates when the rate caps expire, state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty recently spoke about the need for the Legislature to take action on such a proposal by Gov. Edward Rendell. Speaking to the Herald-Standard Editorial Board as part of her trek across the state to discuss the governor’s new energy proposal, McGinty first touched upon last year’s initiative by Rendell to stop potential doubling of electricity rates when the caps expire in 2010.
McGinty explained that in 1996, when the deregulation occurred, there was a cap put on generation costs to electric companies with an expiration date. She said while transmission and distribution charges have increased over the last decade, generation costs have remained the same.
Once the cap is lifted and if no legislation is approved to prevent it, charges could literally double overnight, McGinty said. She said the impact was severe in Maryland, where consumers literally saw an increase of 72 percent.
McGinty said the governor’s plan is to ensure no rate spikes will occur, and instead a gradual phase-in schedule of increases would take place.
She said although the proposal had not moved since it was initially introduced last year, last week the state House passed a proposal, but there has been no action in the Senate. McGinty expressed concerns that the action must be taken soon because approval from the Public Utility Commission alone could take 18 months.
“The governor’s plan is aimed at ensuring no rate spikes occur,” McGinty said.
On another electricity topic, McGinty said she has been “very active” in opposing the designation of the Mid-Atlantic Electric Transmission Corridor. The U.S. Department of Energy in October approved the Mid-Atlantic National Electric Transmission Corridor to meet growing demand for electricity along the East Coast.
However, the agency put the corridor plans on hold in December in response to complaints from residents and elected officials in the path of the proposed power lines. Additional hearings on the corridor proposal are planned.
McGinty described the designation as an “almost unbelievable abuse of a simple statement” in a law in which the federal government declared “huge swaths of the state under federal jurisdiction.” She said that Pennsylvania is a “net electricity exporter,” with 35 percent of all electricity in the state being exported.
She said the federal government should instead make a directive to other states that are deficient in exporting electricity instead of designating most of Pennsylvania a corridor. She said it also is “galling that when the line gets put in, we have to pay for it as well.”
The Mid-Atlantic corridor would cover 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, New York and the District of Columbia. All of Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware also would be included.
Allegheny Energy applied to the state Public Utility Commission in April for permission to build 37 miles of a 500-kilovolt Trans-Allegheny Interstate Transmission Line, or TrAIL. The line would extend from a proposed 502 Junction Substation in Mount Morris in Greene County to a proposed Prexy Substation in North Strabane Township in Washington County.
Two existing 500-kilovolt lines and the TrAIL would converge at the 502 Junction, which would send power to meet a growing demand in Washington County, according to the power company.
Allegheny Energy also filed applications with utility agencies in West Virginia and Virginia, where the rest of the 240-mile TrAIL would be built.
Talking about the new initiatives, McGinty said they include water related infrastructure, flood protection, addressing deteriorating dams and drinking and wastewater infrastructure needs.
She said Pennsylvania is a “water-intensive state,” with more stream miles than any other state besides Alaska. She said Pennsylvania also is the top state in flooding damage costs.
Regarding the need for sewer and water upgrade needs, McGinty said the federal government estimates needs at $20 billion, a figure she said is likely low.
She said although tax proceeds are placed in a Clean Water Revolving Fund, Pennsylvania’s allocation was cut 50 percent by the federal government over the last three years.
“There may be nice sewers in Baghdad but not in Bedford,” McGinty said.
To deal with the cut, McGinty said there is a $100 million initiative, which is doubling the grant program to municipalities for special maintenence needs.
As an example, money could be used for closure devices on levies because if the levies don’t meet new federal standards, it is viewed as having no flood protection at all.
She said Rendell also is proposing a surcharge of 7 cents on every $100 of insurance coverage as a way to raise money.
A dam safety initiative is under way. McGinty said the DEP regulates 3,200 dams, including 780 “high-hazard dams,” which if they fail, would take life and property. She said there are 61 unsafe high-hazard dams with the beginning evidence of structural deficiency. Of those, 17 are owned by the state and 21 owned by municipalities. They would cost $37 million to repair or replace.
McGinty said the state should be in the position of protecting people, and as a means to that end, the state would provide $6.6 million or 30 percent of the cost to repair dams. She said two such dams are located in Fayette County, including the Allison Reservoir and Crabapple Dam in Franklin Township.
There are several in Washington County as well.