Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell called the U.S. Department of Energy's decision to designate 52 of the commonwealth's 67 counties as part of the Mid-Atlantic Transmission Corridor an infringement on the state's rights. He noted that the designation could lead to the construction of unnecessary high-voltage power lines in Pennsylvania.

"I'm disappointed that the Department of Energy chose to adopt this designation despite the considerable opposition from the public and state officials," said Governor Rendell. "From day one, we argued that any determination should reflect a specific need for additional transmission capacity, and we challenged the federal government to show us an instance where the Public Utility Commission refused a proposed transmission project. Since DOE failed to demonstrate either, we see no reason why this designation should be finalized."

In the letter dated June 8, Governor Rendell wrote to Energy Department Secretary Samuel W. Bodman that the Mid-Atlantic Transmission Corridor, as outlined by the Department of Energy, is so expansive that it is meaningless. The Governor argued that if the DOE must designate such areas to protect the reliability of transmission capacity and the country's best interests, it should have identified specific needs and routes necessary to meet those demands.

Governor Rendell also cautioned in the letter that because such a vast portion of Pennsylvania's geography has been designated as potential sites serving the nation's best interest, the commonwealth may be forced to accept projects that serve the other states more so than the Keystone State.

"Pennsylvania may be forced to accept projects that are far from the best choice," added the governor. "These transmission lines will be on our soil, depreciate our property values, but they may not benefit our consumers. This is simply unacceptable.

"If a project is located in Pennsylvania because of this designation, it could bring more harm than benefit to our people.

"The commonwealth has worked aggressively over the last four-and-a-half years to expand its clean and renewable energy production industries," said the governor. "We are concerned that many of the proposed transmission lines bypass parts of our state where clean, new generation is coming online and, instead, pulls power from old, dirty plants to the east and south of us. Those lines are a 'loss' for Pennsylvania's economy and environment."

The governor further made clear that the commonwealth will examine all avenues available to enable a challenge to this flawed rule.