Siting, Zoning Exemptions and Eminent Domain Requests All Denied and Transource Certificate of Public Convenience Rescinded by PUC Action
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has taken formal action to reject a series of interrelated applications and petitions filed by Transource Pennsylvania LLC for the siting and construction of high-voltage electric transmission lines in Franklin and York counties.
The Commission voted 4-0 on May 20, 2021, to amend and adopt a Recommended Decision issued by PUC Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth H. Barnes in December 2020, which found that Transource has failed to show need for the project within the meaning of Commission Regulations and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Code.
The Transource transmission line proposals – also known as the Independence Energy Connection East and West projects – have been the subject of extensive investigation and litigation before the PUC since 2017, including several rounds of public input hearings and expert testimony.
Today’s action by the PUC denies all the Transource applications and petitions submitted to the Commission related to this project, including:
- The application for approval of siting and construction for the East Portion of the Independence Energy Connection Project in portions of York County, Pennsylvania.
- The application for approval of siting and construction for the West Portion of the Independence Energy Connection Project in portions of Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
- A joint amended application related to the East Portion (York County) of the project, submitted by Transource and PPL Electric Utilities.
- Petitions for waiver of local zoning regulations related to the construction of substations in Franklin and York counties.
- Applications seeking approval for eminent domain action involving 77 landowners in Franklin and York counties.
Additionally, today’s Commission order rescinds the PUC certificate of public convenience that was issued to Transource in 2018, which had granted the authority to furnish electric transmission services in Franklin and York counties.
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