'We have concerns:' Pa consumer advocates share opposition to $1.7B powerline project

The Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocates (OCA) continues to voice strong opposition to the proposed $1.7 billion Kammer-Juniata Transmission Project, a major powerline development planned by NextEra and Exelon. The project is designed to span over 200 miles across parts of Pennsylvania, including Cambria, Huntingdon, and Blair counties, and West Virginia. Darryl Lawrence, a consumer advocate, conveyed the OCA's concerns to PJM, the region’s electric grid operator, highlighting issues with the project's selection methodology, its significant projected cost, and the potential for extensive environmental damage from "green field construction" across farmlands, creeks, and forests. The OCA also noted that the transmission lines are being built specifically to accommodate the increasing demand from AI data centers. Lawrence stated that the OCA believes the data centers, as the primary beneficiaries of this infrastructure, should bear the majority, if not all, of the project's expenses. While the project is in its nascent stages with no official filings yet, the OCA has announced its intention to formally intervene and likely file a protest once these documents are submitted to the public utility commission. Officials from NextEra, the PUC, and the OCA confirm that the public will have several opportunities to provide input as the project moves forward.