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Artificial Island Transmission Dispute Gets Rehearing

nj.com

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Federal Regulatory Commission has granted a rehearing sought by Delaware and Maryland officials over planned cost allocations for a $278 million regional electric transmission line project.

The commission on Thursday granted a rehearing sought by the two states after FERC in 2016 denied their complaint alleging that the cost-sharing formula used by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection was unfair.

The project calls for construction of a 230-kilovolt line from the Artificial Island nuclear complex in southern New Jersey to Delaware as a way to improve system reliability.

Delaware and Maryland officials have argued that ratepayers on the Delmarva peninsula would pay more than 90 percent of the cost for a project that mostly benefits New Jersey. They have urged FERC to consider alternative cost methodologies.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.