In a letter to the Maryland Public Service Commission, PHI said that because of a change in circumstances involving another proposed high-voltage transmission line in Virginia, it is both prudent and efficient to suspend the procedural schedule while awaiting completion of the new study. The company asked that a revised schedule then be established in June.
PHI has proposed to build the Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP), a 150-mile, 500kV transmission line from Virginia, through Maryland and across the Chesapeake Bay.
PJM Interconnection, which manages the grid system for a 13-state region and the district of Columbia, has scheduled an in-service date of 2014 for MAPP. However, the studies PJM had conducted for MAPP all relied on an assumption that the new Virginia line also would be in service at that time.
Last week, PJM Interconnection indicated that certain preliminary studies based on new assumptions suggest that the Virginia line may not be needed as soon as originally predicted, but made no assessment of MAPP.
PHI believes that the overall need for MAPP remains in order to serve long-term energy demand and provide electric reliability. The company will continue with its design, environmental studies and route definition process for MAPP while awaiting the new PJM Interconnection study results.
