Duke Energy officials said in a release Thursday that thousands of comments they have received from the public on the proposed location of 40 miles of new transmission lines have led to the review process being extended to early November.
Duke officials said the extension will allow them to “carefully consider the thousands of comments.”
Duke spokesman Ryan Mosier has said that the project is needed to keep up with the demand for service in the Carolinas.
“We’re projecting a 15 percent increase in demand over the next few years,” Mosier said.
“More time is needed to continue to carefully consider more than 9,000 comments received and create a solution to deliver cleaner, reliable power to Western Carolinas,” Mosier said in a release Thursday. “The company is looking at all options that can meet the region’s long term power demand over the next 10 to 15 years — including possible alternatives to the transmission line, Campobello substation and the configuration of the proposed Asheville natural gas power plant.”
“The overall modernization plan is addressing a very real problem that is not going away. Power demand, particularly on the coldest and hottest days of the year, will continue to grow, and the region’s electrical infrastructure must be upgraded to meet that increased demand.”
The 230-kilovolt Foothills Transmission Line will run from the Campobello substation to Asheville.
Mosier said the company is looking at co-locating new lines where possible among existing lines, but will still need to build new structures to accommodate all the lines.
Mosier also said the project is necessary to keep up with the demand in customers.
Thousands of people have signed a petition to try to stop the transmission line project. Hundreds of people attended public forums where they challenged the plan, sometimes even shedding tears. Many who attended the public hearings said they feel misled.
“I am appalled by the method they are taking, and I am also appalled by the misinformation,” Debra Stephens said.
Stephens said she doesn’t believe that there are no other alternatives.
“We are the people that are going to have the base of our economy damaged, the base of our lifetime investment, of individuals, only for them to put corporate money in their pockets,” she said.
Those against the project feel that no matter what Duke decides, nobody wins.
“This is infringing on people’s property rights, their life plans, that are completely uprooted if a transmission line comes through their property or their neighborhood,” said Joan Walker with the Carolina Land Coalition.
Robert Sipes, general manager of Duke’s delivery operations for the Western Carolinas, said, “Our goal is to have the best possible plan with the least impact on property owners, the environment and the communities we serve. Concerns about the transmission line and substation and the potential impact on tourism and mountain views we all enjoy are significant.
“We want the thousands of property owners and others to know we are listening, and we very much appreciate their patience. The job for the Duke Energy team is to offer solutions to as many concerns as we can, including possible alternatives to the transmission line and substation, while also meeting the region’s growing expectation for cleaner and reliable power.”
Sipes noted that the overall modernization plan is addressing a very real problem that is not going away. Power demand, particularly on the coldest and hottest days of the year, will continue to grow, and the region’s electrical infrastructure must be upgraded to meet that increased demand.
The Duke release said that since 1970, peak power demand has increased by more than 360 percent in Duke Energy Progress’ western region, which serves 160,000 customers in nine Western North Carolina counties. Ensuring power reliability was particularly difficult during the winters of 2014 and 2015, when peak demand was 30 percent higher than in 2013, the release said. Over the next decade, continued population and business growth is expected to increase overall power demand by 15 percent.
Duke said the project also includes the early retirement of Asheville’s coal plant, replacing it with a cleaner natural gas plant and adding solar generation to the Asheville power plant site.
The release said the proposed natural gas plant is expected to produce electricity less expensively than the existing coal plant, which is often dispatched to ensure the region’s power reliability even when it is not economical. Duke says the savings will be shared with customers across North Carolina and South Carolina through Duke Energy’s joint dispatch and fuel purchasing agreement. This allows Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress to collectively dispatch power plants and purchase fuel as efficiently as possible. Since the companies merged in July 2012, it has saved customers more than $520 million, the release says.
Duke said the new gas plant will significantly reduce air emissions and water use at the Asheville power plant site and will enable the company to cancel plans for new coal-ash handling systems and a smaller and less efficient oil-fired power plant because those projects will no longer be necessary.
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