Duke Energy installs new Asheville team to support controversial power line

Residents from Campobello, S.C., where the line would start, through Henderson and Polk counties to its end in Buncombe County, have mounted protests and bridled at the public-information meetings Duke has organized to date.

Opened file

On July 27, the S.C. Public Service Commission opened a file on the power line even though Duke had not applied for a permit. The file was just to handle the objections the commission was receiving from residents. To date, there are 117 objections filed and on Aug. 11, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources became an intervenor in the file.

On Aug. 10, the Polk County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution opposing the proposed line, the Spartanburg Herald Journal reports:

Polk’s resolution states that locating the lines within the county would negatively effect “current homeowners, potential homeowners, tourism dollars, and business revenue.”
The resolution also states that the lines would hurt the county budget through lost property tax revenue of $16,000 to $200,000 each year. The lines may also encroach on the water supply classification area of Lake Adger and Farmland Preservation easements.

Power imports

Layne says the new power line is an important part of the project. Duke Progress projects the Asheville region will need to import 400 megawatts of power to meet growing demand over the next 10 years, even with the new plant. The local grid, which is a small satellite of Duke Progress’ much larger operations in the eastern part of North Carolina, does not have the capacity to import that much power.

The high-voltage line will connect the Asheville grid to Duke Energy Carolinas’ grid in Upstate South Carolina, making power sharing among the two utilities easier.

Lloyd Yates, Duke executive vice president and president of its Carolinas Region, says Sipes and Walls make a perfect team for the region.

“‘Both Robert and Jason have extensive industry experience and they live in the area,” he says. “Their passion for their work and community will ensure strong collaboration with all stakeholders as we identify the best solutions to modernize the electrical infrastructure to reliably serve the area’s growing energy needs.”