Time is fast running out to RSVP for StopPATH WV's PATH Funeral Party on May 21st!  RSVP deadline is this coming Saturday, May 14.  We need a headcount in order to make sure we've got enough delicious food for everyone.  Those of you who have attended some of our numerous meetings over the years know food is something we do rather well!  Chef Steve will be manning the grill and there will be a wide assortment of PATH-themed side dishes and desserts for your enjoyment.

We welcome everyone with an interest in the PATH project to join us in an evening of celebration and frivolity, not necessarily in that order!  If you haven't received a personal invitation but would like to come, don't be shy... email us today!

We've got a great line-up of activities planned for the party... live entertainment by "Electra," presentation of PATH superlative awards, and special guest speakers, including party sponsor Mountain View Solar & Wind and The Powerline's Bill Howley.

We're also working on an exciting lineup of party games!  Take your turn pinning a head on the PATH Donkey; or take a swing at our PATHata!  Our custom-made pinata is full of surprises, just like our friends at PATH.  ;-)  How many times over the past three years have you fantasized about beating PATH with a baseball bat?  Go ahead, admit it!  Now you can... safely and legally!  Will you be the one to bust PATH wide open to see what's lurking inside?  We'll also have croquet, Bocce ball and other lawn games to keep you entertained.

At the end of the evening, join us for the symbolic bonfire where we will be burning PATH in effigy!  Good riddance to bad rubbish!

If I haven't convinced you to come party with us in WV yet... here's one more reason.  Every guest will receive a free commemorative button as shown below!  Come on out and take a bow for your contribution to the group effort to stop PATH!  Annoying the power companies isn't the only thing we do well... we also know how to throw a great party... the only thing still missing is YOU!

StopPATH WV's very own Electra will be performing live at our PATH Funeral Party on May 21!  You've probably all seen the video, now meet the singer/songwriter!  And, yes, she'll be wearing the famous light up dress and hat... don't miss it!  Send in your RSVP today!

For all you blog fans, Bill Howley, author of The Powerline, will also be attending our party!  If you love the blog but haven't met Bill in person, here's your chance!

Our friends at Mountain View Solar & Wind will also be at the party and will have staff to consult and information available about how you can get off the grid!  It's cheaper and easier than you may think... be sure to check them out during the party and also thank them for helping to sponsor the party!  Wait until you see their contribution...  you'll be cheering for them before the party is over... guaranteed!

More to come...

Invitations to StopPATH's celebration of state application withdrawals have begun to go out and will continue over the next several days.  If you would like to come but haven't received your invitation, let me know.

We've got a fun evening shaping up and are looking forward to reveling in PATH's demise with all our friends from West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland!  Here are some of the things we have planned:

A delicious meal cooked on the grill and served with a tempting array of homemade goodies creatively decorated to commemorate the death of the PATH project.  This will be followed by live entertainment and open mike for all who would like to say a few words about the citizens' victory.  Next up -- remember those senior superlatives from high school?  Well, we've created our own PATH Superlatives version, which will be awarded to various individuals present!  Each one of us has brought our own unique talents and strengths to this fight and only through our collective might was this victory made possible.  We're going to cap the night off with a symbolic bonfire where we're going to burn PATH in effigy (unless the PATH guys crash the party and want to volunteer to be tossed into the flames for added realism-- we're flexible)!

We have some accommodations available, as well as space for overnight camping.  Hope to see you all there!

This coming Friday night, April 15th, The Journal will be hosting a Candidate Forum, starring all the gubernatorial hopefuls (or at least all the main ones).  The forum will be held at Musselman High School and begins at 7:00 p.m.  Come wearing your StopPATH t-shirt and join our group!  We have submitted several questions for the candidates to The Journal's coordinator that you'll find interesting.

And speaking of the Governor's race, Patience and I met John Perdue over the weekend at one of his town hall meetings in Shepherdstown.  He had some interesting ideas when I questioned him about his utility rate increase "moratorium."  Yes, he knows that's not the complete answer and that power company pork, imprudent expenditures and sloppy accounting needs to end... or at least he does now :-)  He also said he wants to overhaul the WV-PSC.  He was shocked to learn that the commissioners have ties to the industry and that needs to end (ok, we laughed here, couldn't help it!)  He would also like to increase the number of commissioners and have them represent different areas of the state, instead of our current Charleston good ol' boy crew.  I can't quote him exactly, but he thinks PATH was a stupid idea and is glad it was stopped (of course we told him it's merely been turned into a zombie-project).  He favors strong regulation on Marcellus shale drilling that both protects landowners and brings real cash benefits to our state.  He went on a lovely anti-corporate rant and said that out-of-state corporate dominance in Charleston needs to end.  Interesting...  I should have tried pasting a StopPATH sticker on his lapel just to see if he'd rip it out of my hand, like Manchin did that time he ended up wearing it in his palm in front of the TV cameras.  That would have been the real test...

Hope to see you all Friday night!

We finally have a firm date and a plan is shaping up!  Mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday, May 21st.  All StopPATH members and friends, as well as members of fellow opposition groups throughout West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland, will be warmly welcomed.  If you'll have to travel a long way, we may be able to put you up for the night, so there really is no excuse not to join us.

Steve is stocking up on the Raging Bitch and Arrogant Bastard ales... come drink a toast to the death of PATH!

More details coming soon...

It has suddenly occurred to me that today marks the one year anniversary of our release of the StopPATH media campaign TV commercials.  The campaign was made possible by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and with cooperation from The Sierra Club and the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and funding from many concerned citizens of Jefferson County.  In honor of this occasion, go give the commercials another look!

That was our little April Fool joke on PATH last year.  We went on the offensive and quit playing defense... and we haven't stopped since.  It seems like eons ago to me now, but look at what we've accomplished!  The tables have definitely turned and PATH is now running away with its tail between its legs and we're all in hot pursuit with a can of RAID.  What goes around always comes around.

If you didn't make it to Charleston to attend the TrAIL hearing taking place today and tomorrow, you can watch a webcast here.

The complainants will be presenting evidence that Allegheny/FirstEnergy shell company TrAILCo did not comply with clearing and right-of-way stipulations in the PSC's final order.

In other words... tune in to hear about how these corporations have run over the landowners and ruined the environment during the construction of their unnecessary project.

That's what those pesky citizen opponents of PATH did Saturday night at Sugarloaf Conservancy's PATH funeral celebration... literally, disco ball and all.  We also belted out our favorite song... and added a new ale to our collection.  The dessert table was appropriate -- lots of anti-PATH creativity -- and that creativity is exactly what got us to this point in the game, much to PATH's shock and horror!

Several of us from StopPATH WV attended Sugarloaf's celebration, along with lots of others from all three PATH-tormented states.  Although everyone in attendance realizes that there is still work for us to do, celebrating the huge victory we have already accomplished is important.  And it's fun too!

Great party, great food, great company and great conversation!  Thank you, Doug & Peggy and Sugarloaf Conservancy.

Because we're expecting a really large crowd, StopPATH WV's celebration will be held outdoors, which requires nice weather.  Save the date of May 7th to come party with us in WV -- more details will be posted as planning moves along.

Oh, and if you're one of those PATH guys still lurking around, this is for you, with our compliments!

Robin, Patience and I had a lovely drive to Richmond yesterday to attend the VA-SCC oral argument on PATH's motion to withdraw their application.  Spring has sprung!  We also also enjoyed a fabulous lunch at an Irish pub, although we couldn't bring ourselves to drink any of the green beer they were serving -- it looked positively toxic!  Being there in person was about more than just a fun day out, however.  The non-verbal clues that were harvested from the hearing are more valuable than what was actually said.

PATH had a couple of PJM guys attend the hearing via phone to back up the red herring they presented.  PATH's Virginia Counsel, Richard Gary from Hunton & Williams, began by asking to have the VA-SCC's January order to produce analyses of alternatives to PATH suspended in light of their motion to withdraw.  Randy Palmer's trained seal then threw a stinking fish into the middle of the room by admitting that updated studies have shown need for PATH slipping "several years in to the future" and finishing with page 16 from the March 10 TEAC presentation being put up on a screen in the courtroom.  According to this table, the first violation doesn't show up until 2021 on the Mt. Storm-Doubs line, which was rated in its current state, instead of its increased thermal capacity upon rebuild.  With the MSD rebuild completed, violations necessitating PATH slip "well into the 2020s" and a combination of Mt. Storm - Doubs and the Warren generation "makes them disappear," therefore further studies are "unnecessary".  PATH would like to submit this base case instead and there is no reason for PJM to perform any more studies, therefore withdrawal is required.  Oh, and that whole NIETC thing?  It's "in question," nevermind that order to vacate.  Besides, the WV-PSC, that bastion of reasoned utility adjudication, has dismissed the case!  In Maryland, PATH only need give notice of their intent to withdraw and it happens just like magic! 

And that, folks, is your red herring that's supposed to keep you busy for the next decade while the power companies and PJM work undisturbed and undetected to change the equation upon which they base their funny math and come back in a year or two with a newly-concocted "need" for PATH.

Hearing Examiner Skirpan asked them if they didn't have to do the Mt. Storm-Doubs rebuild analysis anyhow for that pending case before the SCC.  The trained seal barked right on cue that that wasn't necessary because they can already tell what's beyond the planning horizon from what was provided.  Uh-huh.

The attorneys from The Sierra Club asked for the base case and the analyses that created them in electronic form.  PATH said that was unnecessary and "a lot of paper" which just shows need for PATH further out, mumble, mumble.  Exactly!!

Abby Dillen, representing Sierra Club also talked about the need to see what's driving this being "absolutely crucial" and keyed to the length of PATH's "suspension," as they are probably contemplating another attempt in the future.

Rob Marmet of Piedmont Environmental Council pointed out that PATH had failed to meet a directive of the Commission when they did not produce ordered analyses by March 15.  He suggested that there be conditions placed on a possible re-filing by PATH, such as a one or two year moratorium.  PATH has been interrupting peoples' lives and placing them in jeopardy for nearly three years!  PJM's "bright line" test has not been met and in response PJM only "suspended" the project instead instead of what they should have done -- canceling it.  None of this was unforeseeable and is the same as PATH's last withdrawal.

Skirpan pondered whether a condition to be placed on re-file could be that it must include a completed 2012 RTEP or later, since PJM had withdrawn PATH from the 2011 RTEP.  This made Dr. Evil Palmer and his "Mini-me" jump in their seats and whisper furiously before Mini-me stood up and complained that it wouldn't "comport with PATH's legal obligations".  You know that story... PJM jerks their strings and "orders" them to build transmission and they have no idea in the world whether it could be needed in 6 months or 6 years.  The forecast could take a u-turn at any moment!

Jon Flannery, representing River's Edge, was up next. In his own inimitable style, he gave PATH a well-deserved dressing down.  Summed up:  Ratepayers and respondents are paying a high price while PJM kisses the butts of transmission owners; no details of this "suspension" have been provided; we can't trust PATH whose word has been worthless since day one; PATH fails every time they submit an application but expects infinite "do-overs" in order to grind us down until they succeed; fool me once, shame on me, but this is quickly becoming fool me 3, 4, 5 times; PJM is not impartial; PATH is submitting frivolous applications and it's about time the SCC shows them some teeth and sends a signal to the industry to quit doing this over and over -- it's a shame and a disgrace!

He was followed by the three Ghiorizi respondents, Al, Irene and Theresa.  Al questioned why it wasn't being abandoned and what the "suspension" means and how long it will last.  He pointed out that the project doesn't have a terminus because "Kemptown" has been denied and asked that the application be dismissed with prejudice because PATH now admits that violations are outside the 15 year planning horizon.  Irene spoke some hard truth regarding the documented record of PATH's actions, swindling ratepayers with their Formula Rate, buying land at inflated prices in order to earn interest on a larger amount, and the collusion of PJM and PATH to create every transmission company's dream -- to pad their bottom line at ratepayer expense.  My notes indicate that PATH counsel was starting to look rather uncomfortable at this point, and Theresa flamed that right up to "angry" status when she spoke about how the PATH project causes new problems.

Several respondents weighed in over the phone, and by the time they got to Carolyn Davis's assertion that PATH lies, Mini-me looked like he was ready to blow!  When Wil Burns of Sierra Club came on the line to request the thermal & voltage results included in the base case analysis, Dr. Evil and Mini-me made like they were going to object to Burns getting an opportunity to speak.  Scared much, fellas?

The SCC staff agreed that PATH should file these more complete results.

And then it was show time for Wahhhhhndy Palmer and his trained seal to rebut.  Unfortunately I missed the first part because I had stepped out for a moment, but by the time I got back, they had worked themselves up into a righteous umbrage that was pretty funny to watch!  Wahhhhhhhh, PATH, wahhhhhhhhhhhh!  PATH hasn't lied about anything and everyone is picking on them!  There is no need to solve anything any further because the base case has pushed PATH into the next decade.  To do more analysis would be "over the top".  The substation is being appealed, so the termnius is merely "not determined".    PATH is a "significant line", therefore PJM rightly put it in abeyance because they can't cancel a project based on 4 weeks of tests!  The only thing truly "over the top" was that nauseating performance...

After their recital, Hearing Examiner Skirpan asked PATH what the difference would be between dismissal and denial.  Mini-me dried his tears and told Skirpan that there was no record and therefore no basis for denial (despite PATH's presentation of evidence that PATH has disappeared from the 15 year planning horizon?)  :-)

One last thought...  if we hadn't gone to Richmond and sat a row in front of him yesterday, I ponder what AEP Project Manager Archie Creepyfreak would have looked at for the nearly two hours the hearing lasted, since he spent the whole time trying to bore holes in the back of our heads with his obsessive staring.  Since Patience gets a bit frustrated when she can't get up at one of these things and speak her mind, she took her frustration out by having some sort of bizarre stage whisper/sign language argument with Archie Creepyfreak during the hearing.  Since it escalated rather quickly to being a disturbance, I encouraged Patience to ignore him.  Yeah, imagine me being the reasonable one (must have been that Jameson's at lunch), but we trade roles once in a while just to keep things interesting.  Next time, Archie Creepyfreak needs to bring some comic books, matchbox cars and crayons along to keep himself busy without bothering other people during hearings.

We have been planning to hold another yard and bake sale to benefit StopPATH WV, Inc. on Saturday, March 19th from 8:00 - 2:00 and it looks like the sale is on, weather permitting!  We were going to call this our "Going out of Business Sale", but due to PATH's "suspension" it looks like our efforts to stop PATH will continue.  We're in it until they abandon the project and go away for good!  The yard sale will be held in downtown Summit Point on Summit Point Road once again.  Stop by and browse all the great stuff we have collected over the winter.  It all has to go -- Steve wants to finally put his car in the garage instead of using it as our storage area.  Everything has to go!!!

We will also be holding a public information meeting at 2:00 p.m. at the South Jefferson Public Library, 10 Shirley Road, Summit Point, entitled “PATH – The Zombie Project?”

We are justifiably excited at the news that PATH withdrew its state applications.  But, PATH and PJM, the regional transmission organization that originally approved the project, have said that it is not dead, just “suspended,” while they hunt for new justifications to bring it back.  That means that you – I – all of us are continuing to pay for PATH's costs, including that outrageous 14.3% return on equity!

We'll cover:

Current status of the PATH project;
What's happening at the federal level;
The rebuild of the Mount Storm-Doubs 500-kV line here in Jefferson County;
How Dominion Alternative One affects PATH;
Your questions.

The meeting is free and open to the public.  Hope to see you there!