Allegheny Energy, Inc. and American Electric Power have announced that regulatory commissions in West Virginia and Virginia issued rulings on procedural schedules for the review of the proposed Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline (PATH).

In Virginia, the Hearing Examiner for the State Corporation Commission affirmed the original procedural schedule, with evidentiary hearings set to begin in Richmond in January. In West Virginia, the Public Service Commission established a new schedule that calls for evidentiary hearings in October-November 2010, and for a commission decision no later than Feb. 24, 2011.

The decisions address the various motions filed in recent weeks by Commission staffs, the PATH companies and other parties in West Virginia and Virginia. Before the end of the year, The Potomac Edison Company, an Allegheny Energy affiliate, will submit a new application to the Maryland Public Service Commission seeking authorization to construct the Maryland portions of the PATH project.

Allegheny Energy and American Electric Power, partners in the joint venture to build the 280-mile, multi-state transmission line, remain committed to the PATH project. According to the most recent analysis by regional grid operator PJM Interconnection, PATH is needed by June 2014 to resolve reliability concerns on the existing system.