Seven years ago, in the midst of contemplating policy to encourage investment in the nation's transmission grid, FERC held a series of technical conferences to hear new ideas and opinions.  One such conference, held in Charleston, WV on Friday, May 13, 2005, was entitled, "Promoting Regional Transmission Planning and Expansion to Facilitate Fuel Diversity Including Expanded Uses of Coal-Fired Resources."  One might question exactly what kind of "fuel diversity" was being facilitated by expanding the use of coal-fired resources in 2005, since over 56% of generation in PJM came from coal during the previous year.  However, Joe Manchin, Peabody Coal and American Electric Power were involved in the conference, so don't waste too much time thinking about it.

A transcript of this technical conference is available here.  It's long, but definitely not boring.  There are plenty of arrogant little nuggets spread throughout, documenting political, corporate and regulatory humor about how they were getting things "taken care of" without notice by the electric consumers who would pay for it all.  (Hint:  search the document for the word "laughter" to find the bulk of their little jokes at your expense.)

During this conference, PJM Western Region President Karl Pfirrmann unveiled his plan outlining "the potential for new transmission resources in the region to enhance opportunities for coal based generation to reach eastern markets."  He called this plan "Project Mountaineer."

Project Mountaineer envisioned two or more new transmission "backbone" projects to "enhance [coal-fired] power flows by up to 5,000 MW."

Project Mountaineer's "transmission enhancements included potentially 550 to 900 miles of new backbone 500 or 765 kv transmission at an approximate cost of $3.3 to $3.9 billion. Although a large number, if such costs are spread to all customers within the PJM footprint, the cost to a typical retail customer would amount to only one mill/kwh."

Pfirrman envisioned that PJM's Regional Transmission Expansion Plan could be utilized as a "vehicle" to create a smokescreen to advance these purely economic projects under the guise of reliability.  In the words of AEP's Mike Morris, "...it lends credibility to what you're trying to do." This resulted in power company propaganda telling electric consumers they would be subject to "brownouts and blackouts" unless Project Mountaineer was built.

In response to the profitable opportunities presented by Project Mountaineer, some of PJM's biggest investor owned utilities began proposing transmission projects that fit into the Project Mountaineer scheme, such as Allegheny Energy's "TrAIL" Project and AEP's I-765 Project.

Four projects that fit PJM's Project Mountaineer criteria were eventually selected as part of PJM's RTEP and "ordered" to be built.  They are:

1.  Allegheny Energy's modified TrAIL Project, a 500 kV line, 215 miles long, beginning in Southwestern Pennsylvania and ending in Northern Virginia.  Dominion Resources was "ordered" to build a second, smaller segment of this project in their territory in Virginia.  Estimated cost for this project was $960M.  The sponsors of this project claimed it would relieve some portion of "congestion," which was purportedly costing PJM electric consumers $1.6B yearly in 2006.  Allegheny Energy's portion of the project was awarded a return on equity of 12.7% by FERC.  This project originally included additional project miles in Pennsylvania that were abandoned after the Pennsylvania PUC denied their application.  TrAIL was ramrodded through approvals and built in 5 years, although purchasing approval in West Virginia resulted in millions of dollars worth of "concessions."

2.  Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power's PATH Project, a combination of parts of both original TrAIL and I-765 projects.  The companies formed a joint venture and were awarded an astounding 14.3% return on equity for their investment in the project by FERC.  The 765 kV project was 275 miles in length, stretching from southern West Virginia, across Northern Virginia and ending in Mt. Airy, Maryland, and was estimated to cost $2.1B.  PATH was supposed to save consumers $47M per year in "congestion" costs.  PATH was shelved last year and is currently "held in abeyance" by PJM.

3.  PSE&G and PPL's Susquehanna-Roseland Project.  This 145 mile long, 500kV project, stretches from Salem Township, PA to Roseland, NJ, and is estimated to cost $1.25B.  For its part of the project, PSE&G was granted a 12.93% return on equity by FERC.  PPL is earning 11.68% ROE through their FERC formula rate.  This project was originally proposed with additional segments in New Jersey that have since been tabled due to decreased demand for the project.  This project is supposed to save consumers $200M per year in "congestion" costs.  This project is still waiting for a permit from the National Park Service.

4.  Pepco Holdings Inc.'s Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (MAPP) was originally proposed as a 230 mile 500 kV project, stretching from a substation in Northern Virginia, across Maryland's Eastern Shore, through Delaware and ending in southern New Jersey.  Small fragments of this project were also awarded to VEPCO, Baltimore Gas & Electric and PSE&G.  The New Jersey and Delaware segments have since been tabled, again because of decreasing demand.  The current project is 152 miles long and is estimated to cost $1.2B and has also been put "in abeyance" by PJM.  MAPP earns a 12.8% return on equity for its owners and supposedly will alleviate $320M in annual "congestion" costs if built.

An attempt to add up the "benefits" for electric consumers in "congestion" cost savings provided by Project Mountaineer cannot be accomplished.  All the different "congestion" savings claims made by these four projects is calculated differently, is at least 5 years out-of-date, and cannot be verified.  In addition, it's not just a simple matter of adding the claimed savings because each project by itself changes the amount of remaining "congestion" and reduces possible additional savings by the other projects.  The nature of "congestion" itself has also changed dramatically since these projections were made.  Due to decreased demand projections, increased efficiency and demand response, and the TrAIL project going into service, the price differential between Western and Eastern PJM that formed the basis for these "congestion cost" claims has nearly levelized in PJM's 2011 RPM auction. 

"In PJM's MAAC area the price of capacity will be $136.50 MW-day, a decrease of about $100 from last year.  (The MAAC price applies to the transmission zones of Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, Metropolitan Edison Company, Pennsylvania Electric Company, and PPL Electric Utilities, Atlantic City Electric, Delmarva Power, Jersey Central Power and Light Company, PECO, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, and Rockland Electric Company.) The non-MAAC region, will pay the RTO price of $125.99, an increase of about $100. This region includes western Pennsylvania, western Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and Virginia.
"The convergence of prices between the eastern and western regions of the market is primarily driven by the significant reduction in forecasted load growth through 2014/2015," Ott said.

According to PJM, congestion is now occurring at PJM's borders:  "The trend of an increasing percentage of transmission congestion occurring on facilities at PJM‘s market borders is driven by 1) reduced west to east flows due to a relative increase in coal resource offer prices in the western part of the market and a relative reduction in gas-fired resource offer prices in the eastern part of the market, 2) increased wind resources impacting the western part of the market, and 3) the completion of the 500kV TrAIL Line."  That's because Western PJM's generators are now trying to unload their unneeded product into other RTOs and can't get rid of it fast enough.

In addition, new gas-fired generation is being planned and built near load on the East Coast, further obviating any economic justification for more expensive coal-by-wire from Western PJM.

The savings are an illusion, but the costs to electric consumers are real.  Let's add up the estimated project costs (although actual costs at completion will be much higher).  $5,510,000,000 - that's $5.51 Billion.

Even this staggering figure is an mirage, however.  It's going to cost electric consumers much, much more.  $5.51B is the estimated total of project assets at completion.  Electric consumers will pay these costs back to the power companies little by little over the projects' estimated 50 - 70 year lifespan.  In addition to the annual, incremental pay off of the principal, electric consumers will also pay annual interest on the remaining balance at rates varying from 11.68 to 12.93 percent.  Return is calculated and paid annually.  Electric consumers are also responsible for yearly expenses such as income and other taxes, and operations and maintenance costs.

Let's take a look at how much the power companies have already spent on project assets:

1. TrAIL's rate base (assets) is $921,926,774.67.  It currently earns them a return (interest) of $76,492,872 per year.  TrAIL's annual revenue requirement (the amount you will pay per year) is $129,108,109, which includes the return.  These figures do not include the cost of Dominion's segment of the TrAIL Project, so consider it a very conservative estimate.

2.  PATH's combined current rate base is $139,771,892 and earns an annual return of $13,347,885.  PATH's annual revenue requirement is $23,211,101, including return.

3.  Susquehanna-Roseland's combined current rate base is $131,284,693 and earns a yearly return in the neighborhood of $17.5M.  Revenue requirement is harder to calculate on this one because project totals are split between two different formula rates that also include other projects.

4.  MAPP's current rate base is $74.2M, with a return in the neighborhood of $7.3M.  Again, these are ballpark figures taken from a formula rate that also includes other projects.  The small segments awarded to other partners amounting to around $70M aren't worth looking up, so consider these cost estimates as conservative.

Here are the eye-opening, conservative totals:

Project Mountaineer has already put you in debt to the tune of $1,267,183,359 - that's $1.26 Billion that is earning the project owners a yearly profit of $114.6M.  In return for the substantial price paid by electric consumers in 13 states and the District of Columbia for Project Mountaineer, only one out of four projects is actually completed and delivering electricity, in order to save East Coast ratepayers some fanciful amount of "congestion" costs.

In addition, these four projects have affected, and continue to affect, thousands of directly impacted citizens in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in other ways.

The TrAIL Project required new rights-of-way, which thousands of landowners were forced to sacrifice at "fair market value."  In addition, it devalued thousands of properties in its proximity, for which damages were never paid.  Allegheny Energy contractors destroyed the environment while building the project.  A complaint about the environmental damage is still pending before the West Virginia PSC.

The Susquehanna-Roseland project has been "filibustered" by the federal Environmental Impact Statement and its owners are now offering a $40M "mitigation" concession to the National Park Service in exchange for a permit.  The cost of any concessions will be added into the ultimate cost of the project that ratepayers must repay to the companies.

MAPP continues to contract for long-term supplies, such as the underwater cable needed to cross the Chesapeake Bay, that may never be needed!

In addition, Project Mountaineer has cost thousands of landowners and project opponents hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs to intervene in state permit cases in order to protect their interests.  National non-profit organizations, such as The Sierra Club and EarthJustice and Virginia's Piedmont Environmental Council, have also spent heavily on legal costs to participate in permit cases in 6 different states.  And then there's the day-to-day costs of grassroots citizens' opposition groups that have formed to oppose the four Project Mountaineer transmission lines.  Although the cost of grassroots public relations campaigns are an incredible bargain when compared to the ratepayer funded PR campaigns of project owners, they still rely on donations from affected and sympathetic citizens.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the indeterminable societal costs imposed on millions of people who are affected by the increased pollution and destruction of their environment caused by increased mining and burning of coal.

Project Mountaineer is an embarrassing faux pas on the part of both PJM and FERC that should now be retired to the annals of history, along with other politically gauche misconceptions spawned by corporate greed.  The sheer cost of it alone, at a time when electric consumers can least afford it, is not sufficiently offset by any illusory "benefits."  It's time to cancel the remaining three Project Mountaineer transmission lines and move forward with new, smart energy policy.

There are so many power company skeletons rattling around in the closet, it's hard to keep track of them all.  While researching a current project, I came across a mid-2009 article, "Solving the System Overload," in a publication called "WV Executive," which was written by one of Allegheny Energy's henchmen.  When I went to save it, I found that I'd already saved it way back in the fall of 2010, and then forgot about it.  I don't remember what I originally intended to do with it, but the perspective of another 18 months renders the article absolutely hilarious.

Haney is so serious with his propaganda... did people actually drink his KoolAid in 2009?  The article promotes Allegheny Energy's TrAIL and PATH projects and is complete and utter crap.  Projections, "facts" and doomsday claims made in this article never existed in reality, and never came true.  You cannot believe ANYTHING power companies tell you, the evidence is right here.

All that claimed "increased demand" for electricity in the opening paragraphs had petered out long before this article was written, thanks to a tanking economy, increased efficiency and demand resources on the east coast.  Haney knew that when he wrote this propaganda.

TrAIL and PATH were all about increased use of coal to power the east coast.  That much is clear in the article.

"TrAIL will also benefit the West Virginia economy over the long term by expanding markets for local coal and allowing for potential new generation projects, including clean-coal technologies and renewable sources such as wind."

Bet they're not so proud of themselves now...

Haney also touts his astroturf front group, West Virginians for Reliable Power.  Turns out that was all a big, expensive scam that electric consumers paid for.  There was no "coalition" of independent entities, it was a marketing scam engineered and directed by Allegheny Energy and its public relations contractor.  But, go ahead and "see what the coalition is saying" by visiting the website Haney touts in his article.  Real grassroots activists have taken over due to a screw up on the Allegheny Energy end.

Lots of garbage promoting Allegheny Energy's new transmission headquarters in the green box on page 2.  The headquarters was part of the buy off of WV Governor Joe Manchin in exchange for needed approval by the WV-PSC.  It wasn't even finished before FirstEnergy took over and turned it into a "regional headquarters" for their Mon Power subsidiary, though.

How about all those jobs that supposedly flow from construction of one of these transmission lines?  The truth is right here in the article -- those jobs go to specialized contractors from out of state and the "jobs" that the locality benefits from are: 

"The economic impact of the construction activity benefits communities along the line, where local businesses provide lodging, meals, supplies and services for field workers."

So unless those union workers in PA & NJ, who recently testified about how badly they need jobs at the NPS EIS hearings, are members of the Motel6/McDonalds workers' union, there won't be any jobs for them flowing from the Susquehanna-Roseland project either.

Haney promotes PATH by sharing that it will, "...create opportunities to upgrade existing transmission facilities to increase their capacity. The current system is so heavily loaded that it is not possible to take the lengthy outages necessary to re-conductor overburdened lines."

Ooops... that turned out to be an outright lie.  PATH has been "suspended" and Dominion has recently taken Mt. Storm-Doubs out of service while it rebuilds the line, and my lights haven't even blinked.  I'm sure yours haven't either.

“The PATH project is vital to the reliability of the electricity grid serving this region,” says Michael Morris, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer. “It is critical that we reinforce the transmission infrastructure to ensure we can continue to supply reliable electrical service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Mikey, Mikey, Mikey... it wasn't "vital" at all, was it?  It was just another expensive, unneeded boondoggle that AEP has now swept under the rug.  However, I'm sick and tired of continuing to pay for your mistake.  Give up and abandon this white elephant once and for all.

Send in the clowns...  In a most delightfully droll display of the pot calling the kettle black, PATH parent company FirstEnergy accuses PJM of selecting and supporting RTEP projects that are unneeded and too expensive. 

What seemingly prompted FirstEnergy's whiny letter to PJM's Board of Managers are certain SVC grid upgrade projects awarded to an independent company.  FirstEnergy gets all territorial because there's money to be made, even though FirstEnergy has shown no prior interest in these projects.  Dominion also gets into the act to steal one of the projects, which were developed by Primary Power over the course of 5 years at a cost to them of $5M.

Ah, we're not too far from the elementary school playground, are we fellas?  Wassa matta... did someone have a better idea than you which could prove to be profitable?  Feeling a little inferior and powerless so you thought you'd steal another company's idea and make money off it?  Silly incumbent transmission owners!

FirstEnergy's accusations ring pretty hollow, after years of subjecting landowners and ratepayers to their unneeded, exorbitantly expensive PATH Project, which was selected by PJM through an arbitrary and capricious process.  PJM's need case kept falling apart, year after year, until they just couldn't continue the charade any longer.

Here are a few unlikely phrases from FirstEnergy's letter.  Substitute "PATH" for "SVC project" and it's clear that FirstEnergy agrees with us -- PJM's planning process is skewed to favor pet projects.  First it was PATH, now it's Primary Power's SVC projects.  That's called Karma, boys!

You can read Primary Power's version of events here.

PJM has rejected or ignored two equally effective and far less expensive alternatives...

...which is more cost-effective and faces fewer construction and permitting risks...

In short, the Rio SVC Project will result in PJM transmission customers bearing substantially excessive and unnecessary costs.

The RTEP produced through this process must "avoid unnecessary duplication of facilities" and "avoid the imposition of unreasonable costs on any Transmission Owner or any user of Transmission Facilities."

PJM is charged with the responsibility to identify and select the most appropriate solutions, whether or not they precisely match those proposed to PJM by project developers. In this instance, PJM failed to discharge and, indeed, abdicated its independent planning responsibility in a manner that appears to be arbitrary and capricious and may be unduly discriminatory...

As explained above, this decision constitutes an abdication of PJM's planning responsibility. Once PJM
determined that an SVC-based solution to the voltage criteria reliability concern was preferable, PJM had a duty
to evaluate and analyze the potential options for installing the required SVCs at locations that would provide an effective solution without producing excessive costs. The apparent failure to do so caused PJM to select an option that is unnecessarily costly, duplicates existing facilities, and may be more risky than alternatives (e.g.,
siting).

...it did not eliminate PJM's responsibility to evaluate alternative solutions to reliability concerns...

PJM's failure to evaluate construction of an SVC at Meadow Brook, and its failure to explain why Primary Power's SVC project is preferable, render inclusion of the Primary Power project in the RTEP indefensible.  FirstEnergy urges the Board of Managers to require PJM to correct this deficiency.

New Jersey utility PSE&G has been accused of defrauding the state's ratepayers through various ratepayer subsidized programs that it was administering.  Now they expect that they should be allowed to spend $40M in ratepayer funds, recovered from 60 million PJM ratepayers in 13 states and the District of Columbia, on a "mitigation package" for expected damage to national parks caused by their Susquehanna-Roseland transmission project?

In a lawsuit filed by 3 former employees who were fired  for their refusal to become complicit in the corporate money-making scam, PSE&G is accused of spending "Solar 4 All" program funds on corporate promotional advertising, recovering street light upgrade funds that were also reimbursed to them by a vendor, and charging a hospital's energy upgrade expenses to a program that didn't go into effect until after the expenditure was made (and lots more -- if you're a bean counter, it's a great read!)

If you think "someone" is watching out for your interests, little ratepayer, guess again. 

"Stefanie Brand, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, the state’s advocate for ratepayers, said the suit’s allegations were especially troubling because regular oversight of utilities’ spending for such programs would not have caught the claimed irregularities.

Each year, Brand’s office compares how much money the programs take in from ratepayers to their budgets. But her office doesn’t comb through each of the program’s itemized expenses.

"We might not have ever picked it up," said Brand, who wrote the BPU on Jan. 6 urging an investigation into the lawsuit’s claims."

Pretty crappy oversight - comparing approved budgeted amounts to amounts spent.  How long did that take -- five minutes?  Combing through itemized expenses is tedious and time consuming, and the power companies know it.   Because state rate counsel/consumer advocates/people's counsel are underfunded and do not have in-house expertise, power companies have been getting away with ripping you off for years and will continue to do so.  Getting caught happens only rarely, and in this instance appears to have been caused by a trio of accountants who had a little trouble sleeping at night and got fired for their ethics.

Nobody is taking on the task of "oversight" of their FERC Formula Rate for the Susquehanna-Roseland project, on which they are earning 12.93% return (interest) every year.  This is where the $40M of park "mitigation" is going to end up.  If they don't spend all $40M, will they add in other expenses that have nothing to do with the "mitigation?"  Probably.  And since there is no budget for one of these FERC-approved projects, there's nothing with with to make even a 5 minute comparison.  Project cost estimates (currently $1.2B for S-R) are simply that, estimates, which are severely outdated.  No one is holding their feet to the fire on this, and since the more they spend, the more they make, that $40M could turn into $60M or $100M or more, and the opportunities are much too tasty for crooked utility companies like PSE&G.

Just say NO to "mitigation."  We can't afford it.

Pam Kasey did a great article about the PATH Formal Challenge in today's State Journal.  Easily one of the brightest and most knowledgeable reporters I have been interviewed by regarding the Challenge, Pam also asked the most pointed questions.  She spent a little time reading some of the background documents and investigating before calling.  She's a shining example of true investigative journalism.

I love the way she ended with my favorite quote from PATH's Answer.  Yeah, Randy, we'll see just who "fails to grasp the distinction between efforts to influence decision makers during the process of obtaining approval to construct a transmission project, and broad-based activities and distribution of information intended to educate government officials, business and community leaders, and the public at large...," won't we?

The Wall Street Journal reports that FirstEnergy could profit more than $200M from the closure of 6 of its old, coal-fired plants announced last week.

As reported earlier, this is a business decision intended to make more money for FE's stockholders.  Too bad, so sad for the 500 employees who will be in the unemployment line, and also for the towns who depended on these plants as as economic engine.

You'd think that a few of those millions could be parted with to set up programs to ensure that affected employees were given opportunities for equivalent jobs elsewhere, or given the benefit of retraining for equal jobs in another area of the energy industry, such as the booming renewable energy sector.  Transition programs for the affected localities could also be instituted.  Instead, FE is absconding with all that happy cash.

One word.  Karma.

AEP subsidiaries are "selling" assets to each other in another corporate shell game.  This article says that AEP-Ohio will be selling generation it owns in WV to fellow subsidiary Appalachian Power.  Meanwhile, they fired up their new gas-fired plant located in Ohio, which will be paid for, at least in part, by Appalachian Power customers in WV.  Confused yet?  AEP hopes so!

In this article, the reporter was treated to an explanation of AEP's "power pool" (probably because she asked tougher questions).

What's in neither article is the promised merging of AEP WV sudsidiaries Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power, which was promised to the WV-PSC in AEP's last rate case.

Why all this confusion?  Because Ohio is deregulating generation and AEP is trying to keep their costly generation behemoths in a regulated environment.  In a deregulated, or market-based, market, costly upgrades and other costs of running these plants are wrapped into the cost of the generation bid into market.  In a regulated state, these "extra" costs are covered by ratepayers of subsidiaries who "own" these assets.

Bottom line:  It's all about AEP making even MORE money at your expense!

If you've been wondering about the identity of the "mystery" administrator that has already been spending money that's being added to your electric bill, wonder no more.

Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line partners PSE&G and PPL announced in their comments on the National Park Service's Draft Environmental Impact Statement earlier this week that they will "mitigate" for the permanent damage their new transmission line causes to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and the Appalachian Trail by way of a $30 - 40M "endowment" to "a not-for-profit organization with demonstrated expertise in land and resource conservation and successful collaboration with the Department of the Interior."  They also share that they "have engaged and provided funds to a nationally respected land conservation organization to begin acquiring interests in private properties of high value to the Department of the Interior’s conservation mission in the area around DEWA, MDSR, APPA and Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge."

It looks like PSE&G and PPL have quite a perverted definition of the word "respected".

According to this NPS document, Internal Scoping Meeting Report. Susquehanna to Roseland Transmission Line Proposal And Right-of-Way Request. Environmental Impact Statement from October 2009, one of the "Action" (as opposed to "No Action", or denial) alternatives to be considered was an "Alternative that outlines the proposal with a framework for mitigation based on a conservation plan being developed in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy."

Despite PSE&G & PPL's attempts to be coy, it's obvious that their purported "respected land conservation organization" is the infamous corporate greenwasher, The Nature Conservancy.

Who is The Nature Conservancy, other than one of America's most prolific junk mailers?  (Thanks for all those free address labels your contributors pay for -- I like to write nasty comments about The Nature Conservancy next to their logo before use.)

The Nature Conservancy describes themselves as "sleeping with the enemy" (well, someone is certainly getting screwed here, and it's not The Nature Conservancy), or as practicing "Development by Design".  Others opine that, "Perhaps TNC should turn itself into a for-profit, environmental mitigation company. Then again, perhaps it already has." 

The Nature Conservancy receives mediocre ratings from charity watchdog groups, with 14% of annual income spent on "administrative costs".  Let's see, 14% of $40M is $5.6M of additional costs you will pay in your electric bill to fund The Nature Conservancy's fat cats like CEO Mark Tercek, who pulled in $493,993 in compensation in 2009.  You'll also be supporting the other 22 officers, directors, trustees and key employees who make up their highest compensated employees.  On this list are 3 individuals making between $400 - 500K, 6 making between $300 - 400K, 12 making between $200 - 300K and 2 bringing home between $100 - 200K. See The Nature Conservancy's 2009 IRS Form 990 here.

But that's chump change in comparison to the real swindle going on here.  What The Nature Conservancy does is buy up private land "for conservation" at a reasonable price, then resell it at a much higher price to the federal, state or local government for use as a park, nature preserve, recreation area, etc.  That's where they make their real money.  So, if we look at the Susquehanna-Roseland bribe through this lens, it is also the taxpaying citizens of the United States who get screwed in this deal because The Nature Conservancy is playing the part of the well-heeled front man, or real estate broker, for the power companies and the National Park Service, who will eventually buy this land from The Nature Conservancy to complete the "mitigation."  How much will the federal government eventually spend as the ultimate purchaser of the $40M of "mitigation" land from The Nature Conservancy, in order to complete the deal to expand the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area?  Or will this land, paid for in your electric bill, be "donated" to the NPS by The Nature Conservancy?  That part isn't clear, but my guess is that The Nature Conservancy doesn't do anything for free.  But, of course, PSE&G and PPL are still keeping the details of this "deal" under wraps.  If it was such a great deal for the public, they'd be so proud of it that they'd be anxious to show it off, don't you think?

As a comparison, a truly "nationally respected" conservation organization would be The Sierra Club, but then again, The Sierra Club would never accept corporate blood money.  Although some have told me my opinion is "wrong," I have yet to be persuaded to change it.  However, in an effort to provide for the free flow of different opinions, here's a link to a Time magazine blog post about the recent brouhaha regarding Sierra Club's past acceptance of millions from Chesapeake.  Further, I'm really not a fan of how this is being spun to portray the WV Coal Association as a poor, downtrodden victim. If this outs me as "not a true environmentalist," so be it.  As well, I am opposed to fracking, but this isn't a fracking blog, so let's get back on topic.  If you want to continue this off-topic conversation, you're free to email me.

The National Park Service employees are being turned into stooges and their EIS process is being utilized as cover for a big money swindle of electric consumers taking place between the politically appointed Director of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and Susquehanna-Roseland project sponsors PSE&G and PPL, with the assistance of corporate greenwasher, The Nature Conservancy.  The Nature Conservancy's part in this charade involves "administration" of PSE&G and PPL's "mitigation" purchase of inferior quality parcels of land on the fringes of the current parks as a consolation prize to the citizens of the United States, who will lose the most scenic vistas of their park to an unnecessary electric transmission line.  For 61 million of these citizens in the PJM Region, insult will be added to injury by having the cost of the $40M bribe (plus 12.93% interest) added to their electric bill for the next 50 years.  This is outrageous!

Almost 10 years ago, The Washington Post did an expose of the corruption going on at The Nature Conservancy, which triggered a Senate investigation and caused them to pretend to clean up their act for a short time.

Range magazine also did a piece about The Nature Conservancy, with the opinion, "Unless we as a people are willing to accept the continued loss of not only private property and individual rights, but of large portions of our national culture and customs as well, the Nature Conservancy must be brought to heel. Right now, it is a well-fed and generally admired beast leading us in a wild run that is as destructive in its seemingly friendly character as it is in its seldom-seen attacks. This is no errant clumsy puppy we can finally calm. It is a runaway predator that will turn on us in defense of its territory. The Nature Conservancy is the wolf we raised ourselves, the grizzly we fed from the table. The monster we made with indifference. If it is left to go on growing, it will be the master and we the obedient slaves."  And again, I'm told I'm "wrong" for including this link.  I do realize there is an agenda at work in this article, however, it does a nice job of unmasking The Nature Conservancy's scam and their continued attack on private property rights.  I am a fierce defender of private property rights, but if you believe in the taking of private property to serve some other party's idea of a higher purpose, you're certainly entitled to that opinion.  Just don't try taking my property on that basis, because you'll have a fight on your hands.

The excellent Range piece talks about The Nature Conservancy's board and trustees, comprised of corporate bigwigs, like Anne E. Hoskins, PSE&G's federal and state governmental affairs director (i.e., political schmoozer).

The Nature Conservancy is like a toilet:  Every now and then it needs to be thoroughly scrubbed and flushed.

Grab your brush!

Despite their recent public posturing, Susquehanna-Roseland project owner PPL has absolutely no respect for the National Park Service or the federal Environmental Impact Statement process.  A December 2011 school project prepared by a Lehigh University student who spent some time at PPL with program director Patrick McMackin contains this quote:  "The park service has responded by filibustering the request by apportioning a 42-month period where they will accept and analyze public comments. Afterwards, public sentiment will factor into the creation of a preferred alternate route and a finalized EIS."

Filibustering?  Is that what PPL calls the NEPA process?  Just an unnecessary obstruction to their get rich quick scheme?  It seems to me that many hardworking, dedicated, ethical NPS personnel have put many, many hours into doing their jobs conscientiously.  Filibustering?

I'm sure PPL will be quick to point fingers at the student and accuse him of taking liberties or making this stuff up, but the truest way to see your own self is always through the eyes of an innocent.  This report is the impression PPL project managers left on this kid.  I guess they mixed a little too much reality into the koolaid they gave him to drink.

Here's a couple of other gems from the report:

1. "The subject was covered in the North American Electric Reliability report, which concluded a major investment in electric transmission would be essential to “keep pace” with the expected 18% growth in demand."  How old were the statistics they fed this kid anyhow?
2. "Because the situation will become increasingly
   volatile the longer the delays hold, PPL has stressed the perfection of its Preparedness, Prevention and Contingency (PPC) plan.  Although PPL is responsible for all aspects of permitting, the company cannot ensure total compliance once the instructions reach the contractor.  However, the existence of a well-defined plan covers any responsibility PPL shares in case of litigation."  What does that mean?  The company cannot ensure total compliance?  It means that any violations will be blamed on the contractor and responsible individuals at the contractor level will be "reprimanded," but PPL avoids legal responsibility.  This is exactly how these power companies operate.  We've seen this same behavior with their land agent contractors, who violate all laws and codes of conduct in the interest of getting the job done and the purchase and option agreements signed.  When a violation is reported, the power company pretends to slap the contractor on the wrist, *wink* and avoids all responsibility for the bad behavior, although this same bad behavior has been ordered by the power company.  They put a legal separation between themselves and the contractor in order to avoid responsibility for their own orders to take certain actions.  For its part in this charade, the contractor is paid well.  Is this the kind of for-profit corporation the NPS should allow to perform construction in one of our national parks? 
   
3. "Having a well-organized permitting portfolio that is readily accessible lubricates the project and keeps compliance agencies at bay."  So, it's all about showing those rabid compliance agencies that you have all the instructions (not that you necessarily follow them).  It's not about following the rules, but about not getting caught and held responsible for breaking them.
4. "The biggest concern the SRTP faces (outside of obtaining the overhead construction contract) is people. NIMBY protesters, environmentalists and politicians alike have rallied against the project.  Some have accused PPL and PSEG of being motivated to expand infrastructure and increase transfer capacity in order to increase their market values.  Organizations such as the Sierra Club and Stop the Lines! warn of the health hazards associated with high EMF levels and remind the public of the grotesque size of the towers. The electric commission determines the minimum cable height based on voltage and possible interference. In some instances, the existing line is over 90 years old and does not meet present codes. The public is often unaware of these mandates, and naturally condemns any attempt to increase the tower height. Ironically, all of the pictures comparing
   the size of the proposed monopoles to existing lattice structures do not come from cited sources, and are generally homemade.  The common theme throughout these opinions and complaints is their failure to acknowledge the work PPL has put in to see that the chosen route has a minimal impact on the environment and the community. Route B was chosen because 90% of the route was covered by existing easements. The snowstorm of October 2011 devastated the northeast, leading to 1.6 million power outages.  It took some utility companies over a week to return power to customers. If these blackouts were to become commonplace due to electrical overloading, I would expect the opinions of many of these protesters to reverse."  Those "homemade pictures comparing the size of the proposed towers to the existing" is illustrated by a piece of Sierra Club literature that looks like it was taken from a project Line Routing Evaluation.  Sierra Club didn't make this stuff up!  Kid, spit out that koolaid they gave you to drink, it's poison!
5. "The industry knew this project was coming for fifteen years. Now one organization (NPS) holds the SRTP back from success. If PPL’s project  management team succeeds in obtaining a
   construction and ROW permit, construction will begin in August 2012. Too much time and money has been consumed to acknowledge any other option."  Fifteen years?  Gee... we've only been able to trace it back to the 2005 Project Mountaineer scam.  The NPS is not "an organization," it's a federal governmental agency tasked with stewarding publicly owned resources and protecting parks from profiteering pirates like PPL.  They aren't "holding PPL back from success," they are doing their jobs under federal law!  And don't bet on that "too big to fail" thing, that's so last decade.

These are the things that PPL told a college student who spent some time with them.  The student didn't make all this stuff up, or "misunderstand" what he was told.  This is the TRUE face of PPL.  Pretty revolting, don't you think?

And... PPL had better NOT take this out on the student or it's going to get worse for them.  Students are like sponges, and this report is what this particular student absorbed at PPL.  The truth hurts!

The power companies behind the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line made some skimpy details of their "mitigation package" public today in their comments on the NPS Draft Environmental Impact Statement.  Today was the deadline for comments (hope you got your comments in!).

Their comment letter goes on for pages and pages and refers to Exhibits that are nowhere to be found.  If anyone knows where Exhibit 9 is, let me know, that's the one that supposedly contains the "methodology" for their madness.

The letter contains some of the most outrageous lies I've ever heard, and just in case the NPS doesn't believe them, the power companies unleash a couple of veiled threats.  Nice.  And I haven't even read the whole thing yet.

Anyhow, here's what's available on the power company's proffered bribe:

1. The price is now somewhere between $30 - 40M, but the NPS can just fill in the amount with whatever they think is reasonable.  You know, name their price for the $ale of the parks.  Price doesn't matter to PSE&G and PPL, they're using YOUR money for this bribe and collecting interest on the amount they spend.  The more they spend, the more they make!
   
2. The power companies will set up an "endowment" with your money, the Middle Delaware Mitigation Fund.  The "endowment" is supposed to be administered by "a not-for-profit organization with demonstrated expertise in land and resource conservation and successful collaboration with the Department of the Interior."  The "endowment" would be used by the Administrator for the purposes of preserving, restoring and enhancing Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the Middle Delaware Wild & Scenic River segment, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail within the Delaware River basin, including reasonable costs associated with administration of the Fund.  In other words, this "administrator" is going to be able to take a big chunk of this endowment for salaries and expenses.  Now, who in the heck is going to monitor that for fraud?  "The Administrator would commit Endowment funds solely to projects or activities reviewed and recommended by the Secretary of the Interior, acting directly or through a designee, following appropriate consultation with representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and State of New Jersey, and Delaware River basin-oriented conservation organizations and recreational interests."  Oh, I see, Ken Salazar, the person with the loose morals that engineered this bribe, is going to oversee the morals of the "not-for-profit organization" who manages the "endowment."  Ever heard that phrase, "the blind leading the blind"?
   
3. 50% of the bribe would be paid when all permits are issued and land clearing begins, and the other 50% would be paid when construction is complete and the line goes into service.
   
4. So, whose land are they planning to steal?  "We have focused on parcels previously identified by land management agencies and conservation groups as important potential additions to the DEWA-area parks and refuges-- lands with natural values that would be of great value to the public.  We have identified lands potentially for sale (because everything's FOR $ALE), most* already on the market in some fashion, that offer great potential to benefit the public."  *most = qualifying weasel word -- this means that only a very small portion of this land is actually "on the market in some fashion" (another qualifying mush phrase).
   
5. So, who is this "administrator"?  "The Applicants have engaged and provided funds to a nationally respected* land conservation organization to begin acquiring interests in private properties of high value to the Department of the Interior’s conservation mission in the area around DEWA, MDSR, APPA and Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge."  *Not anymore, as soon as this crooked bribe is made public, this will be the LEAST RESPECTED land conservation organization in the nation... and that's why the power companies aren't giving out the name of this organization that's already taken your money to start acquiring land for a project and bribe that is completely undecided... or is it?
   
6. The details of the land grab?  Well, that's "proprietary," don't ya know... "The Applicants and their consultants have collected a great deal of very specific information about lands that are for sale (in fee or pursuant to conservation easement) in the DEWA area. Most of the information is confidential and proprietary; all of it is sensitive. The potential to acquire the land for conservation purposes likely would be frustrated if the information were to be publicized.  (here's your cue, project opponents -- go fetch and publicize, publicize, publicize -- hope your neighbor grapevine in PA & NJ works as well as ours in WV, VA & MD does)  To meet the requirements of current owners, a substantial portion of the information has been obtained with the understanding that the Applicants would keep the information confidential. Based on our outreach to conservation partners and other investigations and analyses, we have identified, at this time, an overall universe of 650 parcels or interests in land that merit further consideration for use as compensatory mitigation including 425 tracts (39,500 acres) in Pennsylvania and 225 tracts (20,500 acres) in New Jersey. Of these, there is dialogue with landowners for the following parcels/acreage: 150 tracts (13,500 acres) in Pennsylvania, and 10 tracts (500 acres) in New Jersey. Of the parcels under dialogue at this time the following parcels/acreage are either under option, option pending or active negotiation: 12 tracts (10,700 acres) in Pennsylvania ($34,000,000 fmv est.), and 5 tracts (410 acres) ($2,600,000 fmv est.) in New Jersey.  (that's $36.6M already, with only 17 of 650 tracts of land acquired.)
   
7. I saved the best laugh for last:  "The Applicants are prepared to commit funds in an amount that will fully recognize and show respect for the public value of the resources potentially affected by the Project."  These guys have absolutely no respect for themselves, much less any respect for the public.  What a joke!  And they "will ensure that there can be no basis for any reasonable party to conclude that the benefit to the resources at issue is anything other than substantially greater than the impacts of the Project."  What part of THE PARK IS NOT FOR SALE AT ANY PRICE don't they get?