PJM Approves W.Va. Powerline Rebuild

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Regional transmission authority PJM Interconnection says it's approved rebuilding a transmission line from West Virginia to Maryland.

The Valley Forge, Pa.-based organization says rebuilding the 500-kilovolt line from Mt. Storm in West Virginia and Doubs, Md., would increase capacity more than 60 percent. It's expected to cost between $320 million and $370 million.

PJM says its board on Wednesday also reaffirmed support for the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline, or PATH, project. The 277-mile PATH project calls for a 765-kilovolt line from American Electric Power's John Amos plant in West Virginia, across parts of northern Virginia, to a substation near Kemptown, Md. The $2.1 billion project won PJM approval in 2007, but regulators are still mulling approval.

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