Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 12, 1993 TAG: 9302120365
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
POWER LINE BENEFITS TOUTED
Appalachian Power Co. on Thursday claimed its proposed high-voltage power line would bring up to $303 million in economic benefits and 3,100 permanent jobs for West Virginia.In a Charleston, W.Va., news conference, Apco officials said the line would create 2,600 mining and related jobs and use more than 4 million tons of additional coal a year.
But Bob Zacher, head of a Monroe County, W.Va., opposition group, called the utility's claims "total flimflam. . . . This thing cannot do anything but damage West Virginia."
Apco presented a "white paper," prepared by West Virginia economists, designed to give "an objective appraisal of the power line project's economic value," said Charles Simmons, Apco vice president for construction and maintenance.
Simmons said he expects the project will receive final approval by early 1994 and start construction by mid-1995.
The 765,000-volt line, planned to stretch about 110 miles from Oceana, W.Va., to Cloverdale, faces considerable environmental and citizen opposition. Apco says it is needed by 1998 to ensure a reliable supply of electricity for its customers.
A State Corporation Commission hearing examiner's recommendation on a Virginia permit for the project is pending. Apco is expected to apply for West Virginia approval soon. Jefferson National Forest officials are studying the scope of an environmental impact study to be prepared about the line.
If the line is not built, maps from computer simulations show areas of Virginia and West Virginia where blackouts and brownouts could occur during peak demand for electricity.
In the winter of 1995-96, a brownout is possible in parts of Roanoke and Salem, as well as areas of Montgomery, Giles, Bland and Tazewell counties without the planned line, the company said. And, without the line, a blackout by 1998-99 is possible from Roanoke to Bristol.
The cost to the West Virginia economy of an outage for just one day could be as much as $63 million, Simmons said.
Apco said one-fourth of the capacity of the line would be reserved for independent power plants, which would create up to 1,000 jobs at the plants and coal mines. The company does not know how many jobs would be in Virginia.
Zacher disputed that benefit for his state.
Other benefits of the line would be $18.5 million in additional salaries, $19.5 million in new taxes and about 680 construction jobs for four years, Apco said.
Support for the line came from a new Coalition for Energy and Economic Revitalization, formed by the West Virginia Building Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the AFL-CIO in Virginia and several West Virginia corporate organizations.
But the United Mine Workers and railroad unions continue their opposition. Apco "has worked real hard to pick up the appearance of labor support," said Jim McNeely, a Bluefield lawyer who works with opponents of the line.
The new coalition said it backs Apco's line because the power it will deliver is necessary for economic growth.
With growing signs of a business recovery and steady movement toward intense world competition, the nation cannot afford for its infrastructure, including electric power transmission lines, to collapse, said Duane Phlegar, coordinator of the coalition.
By providing an assurance of reliable electric service into the next century, the study said, the 765-kilovolt line is projected "to have a major favorable impact" on development and citizen well-being in West Virginia and Virginia.