Dominion Wins Powerline Approval
By Greg L | 8 October 2008 | Prince William County | 29 Comments
Despite overwhelming opposition from residents in all affected jurisdictions, the members of the State Corporation Commission unanimously approved Dominion Power’s plan to construct a half-million volt transmission line through the rural crescent so cheap power from western Pennsylvania can be sold to the metropolitan New York power market. You just gotta love unaccountable bureaucrats, especially when they’re subjected to corporate lobbying efforts.
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For once, we agree.
“Dominion Power’s plan to construct a half-million volt transmission line through the rural crescent so cheap power from western Pennsylvania can be sold to the metropolitan New York power market.”.
Q:Why would you have to go through Virginia to get from Western Pennsylvania to New York?
A: You don’t. Northern Virginia needs more electricity too. We are headed for rolling blackouts without more generation and transmission capability.
How sad that Robert Duvall may have to see what are ubiquitous in most parts of Northern Virginia - namely, power lines.
And why should we (in Northern Virginia) let power lines go through our neighborhoods carrying electricity to other parts of the country. God knows that the rest of country doesn’t contribute anything to those of us in the DC area. Oh…wait….yeah….they pretty much contribute all the taxes that float all the boats around here don’t they?
This is not surprising - after all, Americans didn’t want the bail out either, and Congress passed it.
You beat me to it DPortM. What I was going to say was that recent history has shown that government authority at any level can trump the wishes of the people with impunity. The people have shown themselves to be sheep, so why should they not be led in whatever direction government or corporate America wishes to lead?
I LOVE the Socialist Republic of the United States! If you don’t like things being taken from you and given to others, then leave! Hail Bernanke! Hail McCain! Hail Obama!
No one gets it. We talk about morals and making the right choices for the people, but we the people no longer matter. It’s the dollar. It’s the denaro….the peso, the franc…it’s all about money. It’s no longer about you and I. It’s about corporations. It’s about stocks. It’s about banks.
You think you really matter in this country anymore? You’re kidding yourself. You DON’T matter. Your money is all that matters.
Who needs God, right? Right? All we need is the bottom line to keep growing, unashamedly and unabashedly. Keep the profits going. If one sector is losing, dip your hands into the other sector.
It’s your dime and your livelihood. When are we going to wake up and get pissed off? When Comrade comes into your house and tells you it’s to be used by people who work for the State? Or when your house is taken over to make way for some “much needed businesses”? It’s happened to others, it can happen to you too!
Yeah, by the People and for the People. You were told that and it was true once upon a time. It’s no longer true. It’s government of the government, for the government, by the business. One World fellas. That’s where we’re headed. A One World government. Because you and I just don’t know any better.
Sorry. I’m pissed.
Round ‘em up-vote ‘em out!
Amen AWC and Johnson!!!
‘Johnson said on 8 Oct 2008 at 3:49 pm:
Round ‘em up-vote ‘em out!’
That would be great except when they run, someone worse runs against them.
I am not going to pretend to know much about the power line situation but, I do believe in the professionals. I love the nimby’s who say they want the power, but not the lines. My belief is with all the building and new gadgets we need the additional power. In addition, since it was brought up on this thread, I was not for the bail out, but I haven’t seen any polls taken that says the majority of American citizens were against the bail-out. Maybe I am mistaken, but how can anyone compare the two situations and say the American people were against the bail-out or even that the citizens were against the power lines. Maybe the majority of the people who live near the proposed lines, but I doubt the people who will reap the benefits of the power disagreed with their placement.
Greg,
I posted this in another thread but I thought it needed viewing. I figured it was time to tell “my story” no humor or other B/S involved, just straight from the core, feel free to move and/or delete at will
The real Deal -
Hello all, I have not been around here for that long but I’m going to give you the Story of E “Elvis”, no humor in here and this is definitely fit to be a sticky:
In 2006 I moved to PWC. I started a small business, consisting of myself and My wife. My trade is as a private investigator and my wife was part of this as well (although another profession entirely). We had two small children, one 10 year old and one 18month old. I mention had because prior to us moving to PWC they were both killed in a car accident that was fully caused by an illegal alien (this happened out of state) this illegal alien served all of 3 weeks in jail before someone bailed him out and he fled, never to be seen. While leaving us with two dead children and a stack of legal and medical bills.
My wife was also seriously injured in this wreck, along with myself. We both healed nicely, or so we thought. In 2007 my wife passed away from a blood clot brought about by the accident, while working at the office she collapsed on the floor and could not be revived.
So now you know why I cannot stand illegal aliens. Back in the day I couldnt have cared less, now I’m an advocate against them. Regardless of how many say they are “just here to work” there are thousands more who are criminals. It sickens me to the very core when I see newspaper articles and even blogs that advocate the plight of the illegal. Because I know what the costs actually are:
1. lost children
2. a lost spouse
3. several thousands of dollars in medical bills
4. bankruptcy
5. alcoholism
6. permanent disability
that’s just the tip of the iceberg folks, a very small tip. So while I chase retards around town that are cheating on their wives, I attempt to now avoid those areas were illegals congregate because it upsets me so much. I eventually stopped calling the ICE hotlines, they dont care. When the weather gets bad my knee kills me and I have to take pain killers or drink a 5th to make it better and I walk with a cane now (at 40 years old)
I’m just one casualty and now you know why. so when you see a guy hanging around the court-house and/or bocs meetings give me a shout and I’ll chat you up.
Of course you haven’t seen any polls on the bail out! Did they want to know how the American people felt? No. One of Wolf’s aides said the majority of people calling were opposed to the bail out. Many politicians who voted for it said they probably wouldn’t be re-elected because they voted for it. How many people do you know who were for the bailout (other than persons in the banking/financial/mortgage industries)?
FormerCOMemployee said on 8 Oct 2008 at 6:32 pm:
“I do believe in the professionals.”
FormerCOMemployee, with all due respect, you seem to take the side of government very frequently here. I don’t think the “professionals” always know what is best for us, as lately they seem more interested in what is best for themselves and their corporate sugar daddies. I haven’t spoken to a single person who supported the bailout.
And yes, there have been polls. Here is one:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,428921,00.html
It’s all about MONEY.
ahhh….it’s times like these that I wish I wasn’t looking through beer goggles. Pardon my stupidity.
October 9, 2008
The Honorable Bob McDonnell
Office of the Attorney General
900 East Main St.
Richmond, VA 23219
[Via E-mail]
Dear General McDonnell:
I would like to ask that the Office of the Attorney General appeal the decision of the State Corporation Commission (SCC) regarding the transmission line issue to the VA Supreme Court.
I do not agree with the two SCC commissioners’ reading of the Virginia power statute that the General Assembly in effect gave away the authority to regulate the placement of transmission lines out of the hands of the SCC, and instead gave it to a private entity (PJM) because that would be an unconstitutional delegation of public authority which the General Assembly CANNOT do.
Commissioner Shannon points out that “the PJM process may result in overbuilding transmission versus other alternatives, with the accompanying costs being born by the rate payers and the appearance of the Virginia landscape being adversely affected.”
A regulatory process that intentionally wastes limited citizen resources is unconscionable.
It is clear this transmission line is NOT for the benefit of Virginia electric power consumers because even the Virginia SCC grants only preliminary approval to the line dependent upon the actions of Pennsylvania.
No such abdication of legislative intent was ever discussed as part of the deregulation bill which passed the General Assembly several years ago, and I doubt it would have passed if that were the clear legislative intent.
Thank you for your assistance with this matter. If you have any questions please contact me at (703) 853-4213 and please send all responses to delbmarshall@house.state.va.us.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
Thank you Delegate Marshall!!!!!
AW Cheney: The people have shown themselves to be sheep, so why should they not be led in whatever direction government or corporate America wishes to lead?
Baaaaaaaaaahh
http://www.dcexaminer.com/local/people/Fairfax_County_elections_staff_visited_jail_to_register_inmates.html
Fairfax County Elections Staff Visited Jail to Register Inmates
By William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer 10/8/08
Inmates at the Fairfax County jail were encouraged to register and vote last week by elections officials making what the county’s sheriff called the first visit of its kind in his 30 years with the county.
That voter turnout effort is now being defended by county officials, but blasted by Republicans who called it an attempt to influence what could be a close presidential election in the commonwealth.
Both Fairfax County General Registrar Rokey Suleman and Sheriff Stan Barry deny any wrongdoing in the decision that granted Office of Elections on-site access to the Adult Detention Center in downtown Fairfax. Barry did, however, say it was unprecedented in his 30-year career with the county.
“We’d never run into it before, honestly,” Barry said. “They contacted us last week and we were not willing to take any role in it, but basically they were just asking for access to the prisoners who were eligible to vote, and we gave them that.”
The visit came as presidential campaigns were making feverish attempts to sign up voters ahead of the Oct. 6 deadline. The state is considered critical to the White House aspirations of Barack Obama and John McCain.
Felons are not eligible to vote in Virginia without having their rights restored by the governor. Suleman said his office, at the request of criminal defense attorneys who approached his staff, delivered registration forms and absentee ballots to inmates with misdemeanor convictions and those awaiting felony trials.
Suleman, who is listed as a founder of the Trumbull County (Ohio) Young Democrats, ran for office in the Buckeye State as a Democrat earlier this year. He said the office he holds in Virginia is nonpartisan.
Barry, an elected Democrat, said an initial visit took place Wednesday, and again on Friday to pick up completed forms.
Republicans likened the visit to Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine’s drive to restore voting rights to non-violent felons, who are believed to vote disproportionately Democratic.
“I’m stunned and outraged,” said Fairfax County Republican Committee Chairman Jim Hyland. “To me it’s unbelievable that the Democrats are stooping to this, that they want to count on lawbreakers to try and switch this state from red to blue.”
He said the committee is “going to look at all of our legal options, whether this was in the bounds of the law.”
Said Fairfax County Supervisor Michael Frey, a Republican: “Given the budget, and how tight staff is, it does sort of smell that the place they’re going for on-site visits in the Fairfax County jail.”
Suleman said his office will help register voters anywhere an on-site visit is requested. He said his staff picked up about 20 registration forms on Friday, and that he didn’t know the names of the lawyers who contacted his staff.
“As soon as I got wind of it I said ‘OK, let’s make sure we get these guys registered to avoid any other legal headaches [of] being carted in to court to register people,’” Suleman said.
Sorry all.
I posted the above article on the wrong thread. Talk about off topic!
Bob Marshall for Governor!
This man is the greatest representative in Virginia.
Elvis:
It’s an understatement to say your testimonial is powerful. Thank you for sharing it with us. Hang in there. We will prevail.
I’m confused. If the line is being built on property purchased and owned by Dominion Power, or on property that had an existing easement in the deed then what is the problem?
this is such a bunch of liberal crying. Im glad that dominion is ahead of the curve on building our nations and regions energy infrastructure. (actually they are probably behind the curve and are trying to catch up.)
One of (of course there are many reasons) the reasons our transportation infrastructure is so screwed up is that over the past few decades everytime a new road was proposed, the nimby’s and the greeny wacko’s would throw such a hissy fit that the pol’s wouldnt move forward with the road.
Emma, I support the government when they are right. However, my term professional was not used towards government officials but rather the professionals in the energy profession. If they tell me we are headed for rolling blackouts, I am inclined to believe them. Even if the power is not needed here, it is needed somewhere and why should we prohibit other Americans from obtaining the power they need because a few wealthy people think they should not have power line near them. I do not think that important decisions should be made based soley on a few but rather based on what is better for the greater good. A lot of people will be able to use the additional power. I do not believe everything involves a conspiracy or crooked governemt officials. I also stated that I also do not support the bailout. But I know many people who do/did. I would be willing to bet that someone on the other side could do a poll and turn the results to support their side. I am just do not put a belief in polls because if I did, I would not even bother voting in the upcoming election. Maybe you should take your time and read the entire post and comprehend what was written before you make comments which are incorrect.
Ducky aka LUCK DUCK said on 9 Oct 2008 at 7:27 am:
AW Cheney: The people have shown themselves to be sheep, so why should they not be led in whatever direction government or corporate America wishes to lead?
Baaaaaaaaaahh
QUACK, QUACK!
There are many other things that could be done to prevent rolling blackouts most importantly is to start to really get serious about efficiency and energy conservation. Virginians and Americans are known to be inventive folk and it’s wrong to throw up our hands and say that we will forever need more power for gadgets and buildings. Anyway, the gadgets we will get in the future will use less power. Is a new refrigerator more efficient than an old? Do you know anyone who uses a laptop instead of a desktop now? Probably yes. Most of our buildings are built in a way that they should be called SUV’s(or something) in terms of energy use. There is huge room for improvement. There are great examples of smarter, leaner more efficient buildings right here in PWC.
Also, consider the energy to run through this line comes ,in part, from coal fired power plants fed from mountain top removal mining in West Virginia and elsewhere in Appalachia. In this way of mining, a mountain top is dumped in a nearby valley to get to a coal seam. This is problematic(large understatement). The flatter and more rocky scrub lands that will be there after the moonscape mine look gone is impoverished land and will be that way for a few generations or more. The water nearby these mines is said to be different … in a bad way. They called mountains for a reason. It’s hard to imagine the sheer size of these things While you may believe in the end that this simply must be done, it is at a great great cost to our land. Please, at the least witness the enormous scale of these projects. Look for them on Google and Google earth.
Anon in Dale City:
You are right about conservation. It will help delay the need for more generating capability and transmission capacity. However, unless some dramatic change occurs, it will just delay the inevitable. Growing populations have a growing need for power. Northern Virginia is growing and needs more power.
Bob Marshall writes:
“It is clear this transmission line is NOT for the benefit of Virginia electric power consumers because even the Virginia SCC grants only preliminary approval to the line dependent upon the actions of Pennsylvania. “.
I don’t think he’s right. The fact that the Virginia SCC only granted preliminary approval pending Pennsylvania’s approval just means that both need to be approved before the power line design will work. I understand something like 1 mile of the power line will go through PA. If Bob Marshall knows that the power won’t be used in Virginia - he should say that. Not imply it based on regulatory precidence. I think NoVA will need the power and we’ll all be happy that we can get power in the future. However, if I am wrong I am wrong. If Dominion is doing this without bringing any new power to the residents of Virginia, I’ll write Bob Marshall a letter telling him that he was right and apologizing for questioning his judgement. I just don’t think that’s the case. I think some of the power in the new lines will go to Virginia customers.
Perhaps this might help Bob Marshall’s confusion on the matter…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/11/AR2008101100361_pf.html
You guys are missing the point! I personally do no think that cows and chickens give a rats ass about power lines!!!!!!! Those landed gentry of the hunt country have shoved their money down our througth and have ramed a power lin through residential areas of the low income. Listen to those politicians and they feel low income is someone with 80,000 dollars in the bank. The hunt country gets a tax reprieve for their land being agriculteral. Untill you people figure out which side of the fence you are on your missing the point. Germany looks beautiful because they run power lines through the country side. Take a look at that shlock going up on 15 and tell me if it aint looking like LA around here.