N@N

PATH Files New Application in Maryland; Requests Withdrawal in Virginia

^{Published on 2009-12-21 11:30:57 - Market Wire}
 

GREENSBURG, Pa. & COLUMBUS, Ohio--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Allegheny Energy, Inc. (NYSE: AYE) and American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) today announced several actions regarding the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH) project in Maryland and Virginia that will further align the project's regulatory review activities and support the companies' efforts to complete the project by June 2014.

The project consists of a 765-kilovolt transmission line extending approximately 275 miles from the Amos Substation in Putnam County, W.Va., to the proposed Kemptown Substation near New Market, Md. In today's filings:

• The Potomac Edison Company, an Allegheny affiliate, submitted a new application to the Maryland Public Service Commission requesting authorization to construct the 20-mile Maryland segment.
• PATH Allegheny Virginia Transmission Corporation, also an Allegheny affiliate, asked the Virginia State Corporation Commission to allow the withdrawal of its application and to grant an immediate suspension of the current procedural schedule. PATH plans to file a new application for the 31-mile Virginia segment in early 2010.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission is also reviewing an application for authorization to construct the PATH project in West Virginia, with evidentiary hearings scheduled for October 2010. Today's filings in Maryland and Virginia are designed to coordinate the procedural schedules in the three states and to enable the respective commissions to consider the need for the project based on the same facts.

Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power, partners in the joint venture to build the multi-state transmission line, remain committed to the PATH project. According to the most recent analysis by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, PATH is needed by June 2014 to resolve reliability concerns on the existing transmission system.

For more information on the project, including maps and full state applications, please visit the project Web site at [ www.pathtransmission.com ].

Allegheny Energy

Headquartered in Greensburg, Pa., Allegheny Energy is an investor-owned electric utility with total annual revenues of over $3 billion and more than 4,000 employees. The company owns and operates generating facilities and delivers low-cost, reliable electric service to 1.6 million customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. For more information, visit our Web site at [ www.alleghenyenergy.com ].

American Electric Power

American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest generators of electricity, owning more than 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation's largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, the transmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. More information is available at [ www.aep.com ].