PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION OF WEST VIRGINIA CHARLESTON * * * * * * * * * PATH WEST VIRGINIA TRANSMISSION * COMPANY, LLC, PATH ALLEGHENY TRANSMISSION * Case No. COMPANY, LLC. PATH-WV LAND * 09-0770-E-CN ACQUISITION COMPANY; and PATH ALLEGHENY * LAND ACQUISITION COMPANY * * * * * * * * * * * HEARING TRANSCRIPT * * * * * * * * * BEFORE: MICAHEL A. ALBERT, Chairman JON MCKINNEY, Commissioner ED STAATS, Commissioner HEARING: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:30 a.m. LOCATION: Shepherd University Frank Arts Center 260 University Drive Shepherdstown WV 25443

Reporter: Richard J. Lipuma Any reproduction of this transcript is prohibited without authorization by the certifying agency.

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1 A P P E A R A N C E S 2 3 JOHN AUVILLE, ESQUIRE 4 West Virginia Public Service Commission 5 201 Brooks Street 6 Charleston, WV 25322 7 Counsel for the PSC 8 9 JOHN PHILIP MELICK, ESQUIRE 10 Jackson Kelly, PLLC 11 P.O. Box 553 12 Charleston, WV 25322 13 Counsel for the Allegheny Energy 14 15 BYRON HARRIS, ESQUIRE 16 Consumer Advocate Division - PSC 17 723 Kanawha Boulevard, Room 700 18 Charleston, WV 25301 19 Additional Counsel for PSC 20 21 JENNIFER PETRISCK, ESQUIRE 22 Allegheny Energy 23 800 Cabin Hill Drive 24 Greensburg, PA 15601 25 Additional Counsel for Allegheny Energy

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1 INDEX TO WITNESSES 2 3 DISCUSSION AMONG PARTIES 5 - 10 4 SPEAKERS: 5 Brad Wike 10 - 12 6 Thomas Trumble 14 - 16 7 Mary Mahoney 17 8 Rev. Donnie Cardwell 18 - 19 9 Donald Atkins 20 - 21 10 Robert Whalen 21 - 22 11 Glen Koontz 23 - 24 12 Michael Stevens 24 - 25 13 Ernest Hendry 26 - 28 14 Raymond Funkhouser 28 - 31 15 John Maxey 32 - 36 16 Randolph Hilton 36 - 38 17 Malcolm Baldwin 38 - 42 18 Lynn Widmire 42 - 43 19 Richard Latterell 43 - 48 20 David Burns 48 - 51 21 Martin Burk 52 - 53 22 Ed Hannon 53 - 58 23 Mike McKechnie 58 - 64 24 Elizabeth Caldwell Burns 64 - 70 25 CERTIFICATE 71

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1 E X H I B I T S 2 3 Page 4 Number Description Offered 5 NONE OFFERED 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ------3 CHAIR: 4 Good morning. We’re going to go ahead 5 and get started. I have the official time up here at my 6 desk so the official time is now 8:30. The published 7 starting time for this public comment hearing. We are 8 here this morning in the PSC Case Number 09-0770-E-CN. 9 This is the case involving PATH-West Virginia 10 Transmission Company, LLC; PATH Allegheny Transmission 11 Company, LLC; PATH-West Virginia Land Acquisition 12 Company; and PATH Allegheny Land Acquisition Company. 13 This is a public comment hearing called for the purpose 14 of taking comments and hearing individuals who are not 15 parties of this case. 16 We had hearings yesterday afternoon, we 17 had hearings last night and we have a third hearing 18 today. We did that because of the tremendous interest 19 that has been generated in the eastern panhandle with 20 respect to this proceeding. The application that was 21 filed by the various PATH Companies is for what’s called 22 a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity that relates 23 to the construction and operation of the West Virginia 24 segments of the 765kV electrical transmission line and 25 related facilities that begins approximately in Putnam

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1 and Kanawha Counties and then runs sort of northeast 2 through West Virginia and into this area and into 3 Maryland and Virginia. 4 What we are doing today is as I said 5 taking comment from parties who have had --- well, let me 6 say well, first of all, parties in the proceeding are the 7 Applicants, the Commission Staff and all those various 8 individuals and organizations that were granted 9 specifically intervenor rights by the Commission. And 10 those rights that those intervenors have and are defined 11 by our Commission rules and regulations and by the orders 12 of the Commission. Generally parties are people who have 13 the opportunity to present their position specifically 14 through direct and rebuttal testimony, written opening 15 statements and briefs and they appear at hearings or by 16 agreement of the parties their testimony would be 17 submitted by agreement. 18 The Commission order that we issued on 19 September 4 for this hearing specifically stated that 20 although those people granted their intervenor status are 21 warmly welcome to attend the public comment hearings. 22 Intervenors will not be able to provide comment during 23 the public comment hearings. We instituted this 24 restriction in part to avoid communication between the 25 parties and the Commission that might be viewed as

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1 improper but those people are in fact parties to the 2 proceedings and their testimony should come before this 3 Commission only when all the other parties are present 4 and have the opportunity to hear that testimony and Cross 5 examine. 6 More importantly we wanted to hear from 7 the people in this area who are not parties of the 8 proceeding and who protest or support the application. 9 I’m Mike Albert. I’m Chairman of the Public Service 10 Commission. On my left is Ed Staats who is Commissioner 11 with the Public Service Commission and on my right is Jon 12 McKinney who is also a Commissioner of the Public Service 13 Commission. We are here to conduct these public comments 14 in such an order to give the folks who are here an 15 opportunity to comment. We have a court reporter here 16 who is transcribing the hearing and you can see that he 17 uses a voice mask. 18 He is basically repeating everything 19 that you say and that I say. And he’s not only doing 20 that he’s identifying who is doing it. So he’s 21 essentially generally doing three or four tasks. In 22 order to do that he has to be able to hear what’s going 23 on and he also has to be able to know who is speaking. 24 He can only record one voice at a time. And so it’s only 25 polite and it’s only reasonable that we have only one

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1 person speaking at a time. In addition, in order to be 2 able to make an accurate transcription he needs to be 3 able to hear everybody. 4 And we ask that you as audience members 5 remain as quiet as possible while he’s taking 6 transcription. In that regard if you have a cell phone 7 or pager please mute it or put on vibrate and if you feel 8 the necessity to make or take a call, please, excuse 9 yourself and go outside the hearing room when you do 10 that. You heard me refer to this as a hearing room. It 11 doesn’t look like a hearing room on Perry Mason or 12 anything like that but it is for us today our hearing 13 room. 14 And we are acting in a quasi-judicial 15 capacity while we conduct these hearings and we expect 16 you also to act in a subdued and restrained manner. 17 That’s the nature of judicial proceedings. We have been 18 very pleased by the participation in the audience that 19 has been interested, involved and appropriate. But it 20 has not gotten out of hand at all and we want it that 21 way. In our discussions about the hearing I’m very 22 pleased by the quality of the participation and the 23 presentation made. 24 Cheering, applause and outbursts are 25 not necessary. They don’t add anything to the record.

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1 They don’t sway us. They simply extend the hearing and 2 make it difficult for the court reporter. So we’d ask 3 you to just try to refrain from that. We know that this 4 is an exciting and excitable moment today and I’m excited 5 for you, giving you the opportunity to hear publicly 6 people comment on this. This tends to move the spirits 7 on occasion but we would ask that you refrain from the 8 demonstrative showing support one way or the other. 9 Each speaker will begin by saying your 10 name and it helps the court reporter if you spell your 11 name particularly if it’s an unusual name and give your 12 address so that we have that as well. Because there 13 tends to be a fairly significant response and invitations 14 to speak we ask that you keep your comments to three to 15 five minutes, you know, that sounds short but it’s enough 16 for you to get your points across. It’s enough for us to 17 hear what you have to say. And if everybody takes a long 18 time then we lose the interest of the audience and quite 19 frankly it just stretches the hearing out unnecessarily. 20 Also we ask that if you have spoken at 21 either of the hearings yesterday or if you speak today 22 that you not come up for a second round if you will. We 23 really don’t have the chance to have everybody sort of 24 daisy chain up to the microphone. I don’t know whether 25 there have been, and maybe they've all appeared, there

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1 have been some local or state legislatures who have 2 appeared in the past and I don’t know if any is here 3 today. We generally as a courtesy will allow them to 4 speak first. But I don’t see any so what we’ll do is 5 proceed directly with comment. 6 We don’t have a sign up sheet. They 7 tend not to work very well in large groups. What we will 8 simply do is ask if somebody wants to speak, if you raise 9 your hand I will recognize you with a not very formal 10 point of the finger and ask you to come on up and make 11 your statement. And so with that we will begin the 12 comments. Now, who would like to go first? Yes, sir. 13 MR. WIKE:

14 Good morning. 15 CHAIR: 16 Good morning. 17 MR. WIKE: 18 My name is Brad Wike, W-I-K-E. I am 19 from Keysville, Virginia. I’m here representing the 20 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 21 Union 50 in Richmond, Virginia. Ladies and gentlemen we 22 represent approximately 3,200 utility workers in Virginia 23 and North Carolina and West Virginia. I myself am a 35 24 year veteran of line work. I began building transmission 25 lines in 1974. As we all know there’s been no major

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1 investment in transmission line arena in many years. In 2 fact in 1987 I moved to the distribution area of the 3 business because of lack of work for transmission 4 lineman. 5 Because of the population, the 6 investment and the less potential for growth it has 7 stressed the lines to the maximum capacity and there’s 8 less room for failure on our system. Upgrades to 9 existing lines are difficult and expensive or impossible 10 because of the load. We aren’t to get the loads out to 11 work on the way we used to. Our utility workers and 12 members are increasingly forced to perform line work and 13 maintenance which is more expensive and less efficient 14 and more dangerous for our workers. 15 This new proposed transmission super 16 highway relieves the stress on our system and allows 17 utility workers to do more efficient deadline maintenance 18 and reconstruction or reconditioning to improve capacity 19 and reliability of existing lines making them work. 20 There are economic methods associated with this line also 21 to our region and beyond. For example, we all understand 22 that the transmission grid is interconnected with the one 23 other, one causes stress on other parts of the line. In 24 Ohio for example we have some idle power plants. 25 There’s several people out of work

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1 because of that because there’s no demand. This 2 transmission line may allow those plants to operate to 3 energize the grid putting a lot of people back to work. 4 Families depend on them. If that cheaper power can be 5 transmitted to more expensive markets that could only be 6 a good thing, it stabilizes the prices. Now, in my view 7 the big picture, the answer to the economical woes in 8 this country, is to put more people back to work with 9 better jobs. This line will create jobs and provide 10 opportunity that includes millions of man hours of work 11 not just for our line workers but for support personnel 12 as well. They include the maintenance people, the fuel 13 suppliers, retail merchants, et cetera. 14 Also a stable investment on these types 15 of projects will create valuable careers for highly 16 skilled technicians and ensure reliable crew of workers 17 for future projects. For these reasons and more I urge 18 you to approve this project. The future of our country 19 depends on the strategic investment and critical 20 infrastructure that benefits all of us. Thank you. 21 CHAIR: 22 Thank you, Mr. Wike. I was remiss in 23 not introducing some of the people who are here by the 24 way. I know that the Counsel for the Applicant is here. 25 The Consumer Advocate is here. And Counsel for our

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1 Commission Staff. So I’m going to ask that they 2 introduce themselves at this time. Mr. Auville? 3 ATTORNEY AUVILLE: 4 John Auville here on behalf of the 5 Commission staff. With me today in the front row is Don 6 Walker and Wayne Perdue of the Commission’s Engineering 7 Division. Just briefly the role of Staff in this 8 proceeding is to get an independent evaluation of the 9 evidence and make recommendations to the Commission based 10 upon our investigation of that evidence. To help us out 11 in this proceeding we have hired independent consultants 12 specifically to test the need portion of this 13 application. 14 CHAIR: 15 Thank you, sir. 16 ATTORNEY AUVILLE: 17 Thank you, Chairman. 18 CHAIR: 19 Mr. Harris? 20 ATTORNEY HARRIS: 21 Good morning, Mr. Chairman and 22 Commissioners. My name is Byron Harris. I’m the 23 Director of the Consumer Advocate Division of the Public 24 Service Commission. By statute our division is an 25 independent division of the Public Service Commission

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1 with the charge to represent the interest of residential 2 regulators and proceedings before the Public Service 3 Commission in other courts and jurisdictions. I will be 4 here staying after the hearing if anyone wants to discuss 5 their concerns about the PATH project or look at maps. 6 I’ve brought maps along with me or any other procedural 7 issue or questions you might have. Thank you. 8 CHAIR: 9 Thank you, sir. Mr. Melick. 10 ATTORNEY MELICK: 11 Thank you and good morning. My name is 12 Phil Melick. I’m with Jackson Kelly law firm in 13 Charleston, West Virginia. With me today is legal 14 colleague Jennifer Petrisck of Allegheny Energy’s legal 15 department and we represent the Applicants in this 16 matter. 17 CHAIR: 18 Thank you, sir. All right. Let’s go 19 back to taking public comment. I apologize for that 20 interruption. Is there anybody else that would like to 21 comment? 22 MR. TRUMBLE: 23 Yes, sir. Good morning. My name is 24 Thomas Trumble. I’m a citizen of Jefferson County. I 25 live out in Shenandoah Junction. 2576 Warm Springs Road.

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1 CHAIR: 2 T-R-U-M-B-L-E? 3 MR. TRUMBLE: 4 That’s correct, sir. 5 CHAIR: 6 Thank you. 7 MR. TRUMBLE: 8 I think the principle issue is one of 9 equity. Jefferson County is one of the wealthiest 10 counties in the state. I think everyone recognizes that. 11 But I think what people fail to recognize is that we over 12 pay our share of the state’s expense. We have a per 13 capita income or excuse me, a per capita tax for the 14 state of almost $1,000 per capita which is considerably 15 more than any other county in the state. We’ve paid, the 16 last date I have is 2005, we paid almost $50 million to 17 the state. 18 Now, that’s not the largest amount, but 19 per capita it is and for that what do we get? Precious 20 little. We get a few state programs for which we’re 21 appreciative but it’s very difficult to identify what it 22 is that Charleston provides to us in terms of services. 23 You’re driven our roads, you see what they look like. 24 You know that we’ve continuously been on the short end of 25 the stick for the school buildings. And I’m not going to

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1 take you through the various economic inequities that we 2 have, but I do think that it’s fair to say that given the 3 amount of financial support that we’ve given to the state 4 we should expect that we don’t have to have the air 5 pollution from the coal burning furnaces and a path to 6 nowhere. 7 It just is not any longer reasonable 8 for the state to impose more and more burdens on this 9 county. I understand the issue of business. I certainly 10 do. I’m on one of the Commissions in this county. But I 11 do think that when you make these decisions you need to 12 understand that the burden imposed by the State of West 13 Virginia upon this county in terms of the services not 14 provided, not provided and then to add on top of that the 15 social and economic costs of this path brings the 16 question frankly the desire of the state to play fair 17 with us. 18 I hope that those kinds of issues will 19 enter into your consideration. Frankly, our county has 20 already paid enough. I think it is time to consider an 21 alternative path for a transmission line to New Jersey. 22 Thank you. 23 CHAIR: 24 Thank you, Mr. Trumble. All right. 25 Further comment? Yes, ma’am?

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1 MS. MAHONEY: 2 My name is Mary Mahoney, M-A-H-O-N-E-Y. 3 I live at 518 Morrison Street in Charles Town. I would 4 like to start by saying I don’t think the people here are 5 excited. I think they’re disappointed. I think they’re 6 distraught. I think they’re at their wits end. PATH is 7 not something for our county. Yes, we do need jobs and I 8 feel for those workers all across the United States but 9 why should Jefferson County take down our property, our 10 beautiful mountains and farmland, why should they be 11 destroyed? 12 Why should our schools and our children 13 have to be so close to those lines? I believe it was 14 back in 2008 where there was testimony in Congress that 15 said there is absolutely nothing positive and it’s not 16 going to meet the grade. I asked this that this is one 17 county that is beautiful and we work hard in it. We pay 18 the highest taxes and we get taxed more when housing 19 doesn’t even go up. So please leave us alone. Thank 20 you. 21 CHAIR: 22 Thank you, ma’am. You used the term 23 excited. I certainly didn’t mean to imply that it was in 24 support of the project. I think that’s obvious from the 25 comments that have been made. I meant solely that there

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1 is a high level of interest. All right. Next comment. 2 Yes, ma’am. 3 REVEREND CARDWELL: 4 Good morning. 5 CHAIR: 6 Good morning. 7 REVEREND CARDWELL: 8 My name --- I’m Reverend Donnie Jane 9 Cardwell. Donnie is like a boy’s name D-O-N-N-I-E and 10 Cardwell is C-A-R-D-W-E-L-L. I live at 1497 Hostler Road 11 and that’s Harpers Ferry up on the Blue Ridge Mountain. 12 I thank you for this opportunity to speak against PATH. 13 And I intend to be very brief. The first thing I want to 14 say is in a culture that is constantly being reminded to 15 go green this PATH project is not needed. From wire 16 reports dated September 19th, mild weather and a sluggish 17 economy have resulted in less electricity being generated 18 by West Virginia coal-fired power plants. 19 The U.S. Energy Information 20 Administration reports that compared to last year the 21 amount of electricity produced by coal-fired power plants 22 has fallen by 13 percent nationwide and by nearly 25 23 percent in West Virginia. This comparison is from June 24 2008 to June 2009. Utility officials say that drop in 25 demand means that some West Virginia power plants have

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1 been taken off line for a period of time this summer and 2 this is not new. I know that Mount Storm hardly ever 3 works at 100 percent capacity. 4 On a more personal level, I am seeing 5 families in our church directly affected by this proposed 6 power line. It is never right to displace people. Some 7 things are just wrong. And what would your reaction be 8 if these power lines were going over your house? And 9 it’s not just families affected by this power line. It 10 took countless work hours and a number of years for our 11 area to get a fire station. The Blue Ridge Mountain Fire 12 Company will be displaced because the proposed line would 13 go directly over the fire hall. 14 Rumor has it --- rumor has it that 15 someone is going to relocate them. But nowhere has this 16 been written down and no one has suggested where it will 17 be --- where it will be moved to or who will pay for it. 18 My final statement, it is my understanding that PATH was 19 originally slated to carry power generated by five new 20 coal-fired power plants and that would probably mean 21 mountain top removal. The existing lines already carry 22 all of the existing power. Hence, no need for new lines 23 unless the five new power plants are built. Some things 24 are just wrong. 25 CHAIR:

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1 Thank you, ma’am. All right. Further 2 comment? By the way, if you have copies of your prepared 3 remarks you can give them to our Clerk. They will be 4 lodged into the file in this proceeding. Yes, sir. 5 MR. ATKINS: 6 Good morning. 7 CHAIR: 8 Good morning. 9 MR. ATKINS: 10 My name is Donald Atkins. I’m with the 11 IBEW Local 70, 3606 Stewart Road, Forest Hill, Maryland 12 20747. As I stated, I’m with the International 13 Brotherhood of the Electrical Workers Local 70 as a 14 journeyman lineman, one who constructs and maintains 15 power lines. I’m in support of the Potomac Appalachian 16 Transmission Highline or PATH project. The project will 17 provide reliable and stable power which will support 18 present and future demands on the system. 19 Furthermore, the project will provide 20 much needed jobs in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland 21 and improve the economies of each state. For example, 22 hotels, gas stations, restaurants and construction and 23 supply businesses will see increased revenues due to 24 construction projects. It’s my opinion that the PATH 25 project will help the States of West Virginia, Virginia

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1 and Maryland to provide necessary power and in turn 2 support economic growth of those communities. Thank you 3 for your time. 4 CHAIR: 5 Thank you, Mr. Atkins. All right. 6 Further comment? 7 MR. WHALEN: 8 Good morning. My name is Robert 9 Whalen. I’m with the system Local 102 Union Utility 10 Workers Union of America. My address is 333 State 11 Street, Charleroi, Pennsylvania 15022. And my spelling 12 of my last name is W-H-A-L-E-N. We come here today and 13 ask for your support of this line. We currently 14 represent members in four states, West Virginia, 15 Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. I have 1,150 16 members that I represent that currently operate the 17 system for Allegheny Power and Allegheny Energy. 18 We manufacture the electricity that’s 19 transmitted through the lines and also operate the line 20 substations and distribution lines into a lot of your 21 homes. Our members currently make anywhere from $25 to 22 $34 an hour. These are good paying jobs when we come to 23 your area not only for the construction of this line but 24 also for the continued operation and maintenance of the 25 line. We know that the Allegheny Energy Transmission

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1 System is aging and needs the support of this PATH 2 project from an electrical standpoint to ensure the safe, 3 reliable electric service to the area. 4 The grid in this area and other areas 5 throughout the country is in urgent need of updates to 6 continue to operate. We know this because we actually 7 operate these lines and repair the lines. We fix the 8 trouble that occurs on them. We see on a day to day 9 basis the potential for blackouts and brown outs because 10 of trouble that occurs or overloading that potentially 11 occurs on these lines. We also see the aging of the 12 equipment that is currently on these lines. The 13 equipment that is typically from the '40s and the '50s. 14 This PATH project would have new and 15 current technology that would allow it to operate in a 16 much more reliable manner. The Utility Workers Union of 17 America in System Local 102 support the PATH project to 18 help keep the lights on in all of your homes. We 19 encourage you all to support the PATH project and realize 20 that if you think that electricity is not important go 21 home and turn off your main breaker for a day or so and 22 you’ll understand why we are supporting this so 23 vigorously and realize the need for this PATH project 24 going forward. Thank you. 25 CHAIR:

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1 Thank you, Mr. Whalen. Further 2 comment? Yes, sir. 3 MR. KOONTZ: 4 Good morning. My name is Glen Koontz, 5 K-O-O-N-T-Z. My address is 245 Terrain Road in 6 Martinsville, Virginia. I also live in Clark County. 7 And I’m a member of a business headquarter in 8 Martinsburg, West Virginia. We have offices in Virginia, 9 Maryland and all of which would be affected by this 10 project. And I speak in support of the application. I 11 speak in support of the application not just because my 12 business is so dependent on cheap and abundant energy but 13 because I’ve seen what will happen if this project is not 14 approved and we do not increase and improve our 15 infrastructure. 16 Before I came to work here in the 17 Panhandle I worked in San Francisco and Sacramento, 18 California. Earlier this decade you may recall the name 19 Enron became famous through its energy speculation. 20 While I was out there with Governor Gray Davis and I 21 lived through the decisions that put off making these 22 decisions. I lived in a place where you didn’t know if 23 your lights were going to be on from one minute to the 24 next. My secretary commonly got caught in the elevator 25 and would sit for a couple hours between floors because

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1 the electricity was out. Blackouts and brownouts were 2 daily occurrences. You could go to a gas station and not 3 be able to pump your gas because there’s no electricity. 4 You couldn’t check out of your supermarket and your 5 frozen foods melted because that just happened to be the 6 moment of a brownout or a blackout. It is a real 7 problem. If you don’t build it now you won’t have it 8 when you need it. So based on my experience I would urge 9 the Commission to be in favor of this application for 10 everyone realize what that gentleman just said. The 11 electricity is vital to our very everyday lives. And we 12 need to take care of the improvements necessary to 13 maintain that level of service. 14 CHAIR: 15 Thank you, Mr. Koontz. Somebody else 16 had their hand up? Yes, sir. 17 MR. STEVENS: 18 Yes, sir. 19 CHAIR: 20 Go ahead. 21 MR. STEVENS: 22 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is 23 Michael Stevens. And my address is Post Office Box 81, 24 it is in Shady Grove, Pennsylvania. The ZIP is 17256. 25 Although I reside in Franklin County, Pennsylvania I am

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1 also employed in Berkley County. And I practice law over 2 in West Virginia as well as Maryland and I’m here to 3 speak briefly in support of the transmission line. As 4 the gentleman has pointed out earlier I think there’s no 5 question that the distribution system not only for the 6 country but for our region is antiquated. There’s ample 7 evidence that is exposed to a host of vulnerabilities 8 both internal and external and clearly is the opposition 9 to sustain the demand that we anticipate will be placed 10 upon them over the insuring years. 11 Mr. Koontz gave a recitation of some of 12 the economic and social consequences that will be ensued 13 from a sustained blackout. And I think those are clearly 14 things that we need to keep in mind. Just witness some 15 sporadic power interruptions the businesses in the 16 Panhandle have and the loss of revenue and productivity 17 that comes from that and multiply that exponentially in 18 the case of a sustained outage. For that reason we would 19 respectfully ask the Commission once again to look 20 favorably on this application. I believe it’s incumbent 21 upon the Commission to do that in order to support the 22 continued growth and vitality of our region. 23 CHAIR: 24 Thank you, Mr. Stevens. 25 MR. STEVENS:

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1 Thank you. 2 CHAIR: 3 Yes, sir. 4 MR. HENDRY: 5 Good morning, gentlemen. My name is 6 Ernest Hendry. I reside at 4207 Shepherd Grade Road, 7 Shepherdstown, West Virginia. 8 CHAIR: 9 Would you spell your last name, please? 10 MR. HENDRY: 11 Capital H-E-N-D-R-Y. I am here to 12 oppose this project. I believe that it is promoted by a 13 certain special interest promoted by Allegheny Power, 14 American Electric Power, the coal companies and of course 15 the coal hauling railroads. These interests are pushing 16 because they will make a dollar or a few dollars by 17 producing power in this state and transmitting it 18 elsewhere. You know we hear about the rolling blackouts. 19 I haven’t experienced any in the 19 years that I’ve lived 20 in this county. It has never happened. This is power 21 for others. 22 We are treated as though we are second- 23 class citizens of West Virginia and we have to produce 24 power here to send elsewhere. This is a transmission 25 line going out of the state not serving the people here.

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1 It’s for the benefit of the eastern cities that don’t 2 want a power plant in their backyard. So we have to 3 sacrifice and suffer for the benefit of others. And the 4 politicians who are being supported by the special 5 interests are right falling in the line. We’re not a 6 bunch of hicks and a bunch of hillbillies. We’re highly 7 educated people. 8 I have a Ph.D. I’m not stupid. And I 9 know what this is all about. And the Governor has fallen 10 into line. He wants to appoint himself to be the next 11 United States Senator when Robert Byrd dies. And he 12 wants those coffers to be filled. This is what it’s all 13 about. He is betraying our interests, the citizens of 14 West Virginia so that he can entrench himself in public 15 office. I am very disappointed with him. I will never 16 vote for him again. We have something called natural 17 gas. Ever heard of it? 18 A tiny nation in the Persian Gulf has 19 enough natural gas to power every home in America for 100 20 years. That little tiny country that a lot of people may 21 not have even heard of. We have natural gas in abundance 22 in this country. It’s very cheap. It’s very clean and 23 it’s very plentiful. Why do we need this monstrosity 24 called the PATH except for political interests. That’s 25 why. Natural gas can power utilities near the eastern

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1 cities to give them all the power they need. We’ve got 2 plenty of natural gas to go around for 100 years if 3 necessary. This is a bunch of nonsense and we are 4 supposed to fall into the line. I’m not buying. 5 CHAIR: 6 Thank you, sir. All right. Yes, sir. 7 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 8 My name is Raymond J. Funkhouser. My 9 address is P.O. Box 670 Charles Town, West Virginia. I 10 reside at 1370 Earl Road in the southern part of the 11 county. 12 CHAIR:

13 Could you spell your last name please? 14 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 15 F-U-N-K-H-O-U-S-E-R. I was born and 16 raised in Jefferson County and I’m a citizen here. And I 17 just first of all wanted to address ---. 18 CHAIR: 19 Mr. Funkhouser, you were a --- our 20 clerk points out that you’ve been admitted as an 21 intervenor in this case. 22 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 23 I’m not an intervenor. That’s my son. 24 CHAIR: 25 All right.

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1 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 2 He’s a law student at WVU. 3 CHAIR: 4 All right. Thank you. 5 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 6 Raymond Jason Funkhouser, III. 7 CHAIR: 8 That’s fine. 9 MR. FUNKHOUSER: 10 Okay. Jefferson County first of all is 11 one of the most beautiful and historic counties in West 12 Virginia. It’s the gateway to our state from the 13 Baltimore, Washington metropolitan area. There are more 14 house on the national register of historic places here in 15 Jefferson County than any county in America other than 16 the area of Virginia. Tourism is our major business 17 here. The people are drawn by the history of Harpers 18 Ferry, the architectural beauty of the Washington homes 19 and the Bullskin Run Historic District. The agricultural 20 ring states it’s the most fertile farming, one of the 21 most fertile farming counties on the entire east coast. 22 They’re drawn by the quaint and 23 friendly people living in the small communities like 24 Summit Point. Our historic industry brings millions and 25 millions of dollars into this county. All these unique

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1 and alerting qualities are a way of life in Jefferson 2 County, they will be jeopardized if not destroyed by 3 PATH. That is why hundreds of people are rising up in 4 opposition of PATH invading this community. Corporate 5 greed, not need, appears to be a driving force behind 6 PATH. PATH will devalue houses, property and forever 7 alter the way of life in places like Summit Point. 8 Some of the oldest homes in the 9 Bullskin Run Historic District in Jefferson County will 10 forever live under the shadow of the ugly metal towers of 11 PATH. Fertile farms owned by families for hundreds of 12 years like the Burns and the Vicky’s will lose hundreds 13 of acres for grazing and growing crops. PATH will 14 forever desecrate the landscape and incest our homes of 15 our founding father George Washington, homes like Rock 16 Hall and Blakely and Claymont. Perhaps worst of all PATH 17 will site its way fairly close to South Jefferson 18 Elementary School and George Washington High School 19 invading our children that go there. 20 I’ve heard testimony today of a number 21 of people from the Electrical Unions, some of the lawyers 22 that are represented here by the coal companies, all of 23 these people although I --- my heart is with the people 24 that need jobs. However, these people are all from out 25 of state, out of this county, that I’ve heard talk this

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1 morning. This about people here in Jefferson County and 2 West Virginia. And you gentlemen have to make the 3 decision on what is right, what is just ---. I can tell 4 you that the people of Jefferson County have just begun 5 to fight this and it is growing daily. 6 They are mad as hell and they’re not 7 going to take it anymore because of this. And all I can 8 tell you is, is that Jefferson County is a different 9 county. It’s not really understood by the powers that be 10 other than Charleston. It is a county that people want 11 to have development. They want to have farms, they want 12 to have tourism but they don’t want to be invaded and 13 used by the corporate interests that are fueled in the 14 other parts of the state. So I hope that you can take 15 all of this into consideration and particularly with 16 Jefferson County the path that you chose is a terrible 17 path. 18 It’s in the most historic part of the 19 county. It is going to cause us to lose millions and 20 millions and millions of dollars in our tourism industry. 21 For what? For energy we don’t need, for coal that is not 22 green, to benefit the corporate and political interest of 23 West Virginia and not the people of Jefferson County. 24 CHAIR: 25 Thank you, sir.

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1 MR. MAXEY: 2 My name is John Maxey. I live at 335 3 Old Shenandoah Trail in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. 4 CHAIR: 5 M-A-X-E-Y? 6 MR. MAXEY: 7 M-A-X-E-Y. I’d like to welcome you 8 gentlemen and thank you for taking the long trip out here 9 to the eastern panhandle. I am very pleased and proud to 10 say as a West Virginian native that my wife and I have 11 recently been able to move our 25 year old database and 12 data mining company from Maryland into Harpers Ferry, 13 West Virginia. And it’s really good to be back home. My 14 family is originally from Boone County. So I had mining 15 of some sort and there’s no coal out here so that’s where 16 I get into data mining. 17 The proposed PATH transmission line is 18 an expensive investment in infrastructure that is no 19 longer needed and West Virginia ratepayers must not be 20 forced to pay for it. When planning for a national 21 transition system began over a decade ago, the concept of 22 transmitting electric power over long distances to serve 23 what looked then to be an ever growing demand seemed to 24 make sense. Based on this perceived need, Allegheny 25 Power began the process of designing the PATH

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1 transmission line. As planning has proceeded over the 2 years and the investment of time and money have grown the 3 project has just taken on a inertia of its own to make it 4 possible for the company to see that the need no longer 5 exists. 6 According to the latest projections by 7 the United States Department of Energy's Energy 8 Information Administration, per capita energy use as well 9 as energy used per dollar of gross national product has 10 been declining. This decline is expected to accelerate 11 over the next 20 years to the point where energy used per 12 dollar of gross domestic product in the year 2030 is 13 expected to be 37 percent of what it was in 1980. And I 14 have a copy of that federal study that was released in 15 2009 I can submit if I’m allowed to. 16 The data upon which Allegheny Powers 17 has based its assessment of the need for PATH is old. 18 The newest assessments of future demand make the need 19 questionable. But this data is not the only source of 20 these questions. The Energy Information Administration 21 has also pointed out in its Annual Energy Outlook, which 22 was published in March of 2009, that the Energy 23 Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 has provided 24 significant tax credits that are expected to greatly 25 increase the use of distributed generation rather than

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1 the sort of long distance transmission lines that PATH 2 represents. This increase will also lessen the need for 3 PATH. 4 In fact the Governors of ten east coast 5 states including Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey signed 6 a letter on May 4th of this year opposing the federal 7 subsidies for long distance transmission lines like PATH 8 and arguing instead for an emphasis on renewable sources 9 and distributed generation. And I have a copy of that 10 letter that I can submit as well. 11 Decentralized distributed generation is 12 the direction the national energy policy is going. It is 13 more efficient, less expensive and less subject to 14 catastrophic failure. A failure to recognize this will 15 stick West Virginia ratepayers with an extensive little 16 used white elephant for generations. 17 Here in West Virginia the legislature 18 just this past June passed Governor Manchin’s alternative 19 and renewable energy portfolio standard. That’s House 20 Bill 103. This legislation will require Allegheny Power 21 to obtain 25 percent of the electricity that is generated 22 in the State of West Virginia to be obtained from 23 alternative or renewable sources by the year 2025. 24 Utilities must submit their alternative energy standards 25 compliance plan to the Public Service Commission by

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1 January 1, 2011. That’s just 15 months from now. And 2 the Public Service Commission must impose noncompliance 3 assessments if the utility is unable to comply. 4 In order to be eligible under the 5 portfolio standard electricity generated by approved 6 alternative or renewable resources must be either 7 generated in the State of West Virginia or purchased by 8 the utility from the source within the regional 9 transmission group which is surrounding states. 10 If the old electricity demand data that 11 Allegheny has relied on should prove to in fact be true, 12 which I feel is unlikely, the results will be more 13 electricity generated in the state to feed the PATH line 14 which will in turn require the purchase of the more 15 renewable source power from surrounding states in order 16 to meet the portfolio standard. West Virginia ratepayers 17 will end up paying not only the cost of constructing a 18 power transmission line but for the more expensive 19 alternative source energy from out of state just so we 20 can meet the 25 percent requirement. We would be buying 21 electricity that we don’t need from out of state sources 22 just so we can pipe it back to the path transmission line 23 that we’ll also be paying for. I urge the Public Service 24 Commission to deny this unnecessary application. Thank 25 you very much for your time.

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1 CHAIR: 2 Thank you, Mr. Maxey. Yes, sir. 3 MR. HILTON: 4 My name is Randolph Hilton. I’m a 35 5 year resident of West Virginia. My name is spelled 6 H-I-L-T-O-N. I live at 316 South Mildred Street in 7 Charles Town. I’m a retired local lineman worker. I 8 used to work in Montgomery County, Maryland. And I’ve 9 also served as mayor in the past in Charles Town for nine 10 years and as a city council member for ten. I’ve also 11 served on the board of the Jefferson County Development 12 Authority. First, I want to go on record as being 13 opposed to the PATH project both in the State of West 14 Virginia and in Jefferson County. 15 We live in an area that’s experiencing 16 rapid change. And at times it seems there’s little that 17 we can agree on. Well there is one subject that we can 18 agree on, our opposition to PATH. Virtually nobody here 19 wants it. How does PATH benefit Jefferson County? It 20 doesn’t. Who can dispute that the existing towers are 21 unattractive eye sores that diminish the great scenic 22 beauty of Jefferson County. Many of the towers are 23 adjacent to historic properties. The proposed changes 24 greatly exacerbate the negative effects of the power 25 lines on the landscape which structures are wildly out of

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1 proportion with the existing country side. 2 PATH has an adverse effect on the local 3 economy and potentially discourages tourism. Who wants 4 to travel to see ugly huge towers on power lines. It 5 damages a mainstay of our local economy, farming. Just 6 ask a farmer with power lines running through their 7 property. It chucks up farm land and it has further 8 obstacles to farms not to mention the 750 kilowatts 9 traveling over it. It devalues land that could 10 potentially be developed with negative effects on land 11 owners and builders that provide jobs. It devalues 12 property values of existing residences in the county. 13 Who wants to live near these gigantic 14 power lines? Most importantly it poses an unknown and 15 unnecessary risk on children, on the health of our 16 children and the nearby schools and homes. Who pays for 17 this unwanted endeavor? We do. The private ratepayers. 18 Who benefits? Not us. Allegheny Energy will be 19 transmitting electricity hundreds of miles from coal- 20 generated facilities that are not only not 21 environmentally friendly, but none of the potential new 22 customers would want in their backyard. Their return of 23 investment is potentially a whopping 14.3 percent and 24 that is what this is all about. Greed, and money, not us 25 but the money and more money.

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1 Unfortunately if you look back in 2 history this is not new to West Virginians. We’re 3 everyday citizens like many in this room has been sold 4 out in favor of borrowing corporate products that go out 5 of state. I and others like me urge you to stand up for 6 the citizens of this and other affected counties and 7 disapprove this project. Thank you. 8 CHAIR: 9 Thank you, Mr. Hilton. Others? Yes, 10 sir? 11 MR. BALDWIN: 12 I have copies of what I will not be 13 reading. Good morning. I’m Malcolm Baldwin. I live in 14 Lovettsville, Virginia. 39595 Weatherlea Farm Lane in 15 Lovettsville. I’m a co-owner of a sheep farm and a small 16 vineyard. And I’m within a quarter mile of PATH which 17 will affect our community significantly. But I’m 18 speaking against PATH not because of its effect on our 19 farm or my community but because it is the result of 20 perverse economics, myopic energy planning and disregard 21 of its irrevocable environmental damage, from its mining, 22 electricity generation and its transmission across three 23 states. 24 This is a regional and national issue 25 and not a parochial or local issue. Now, I wish to

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1 address just four reasons why this Commission should deny 2 the PATH application. First, and I describe this in more 3 detail in my statement that I’ve submitted to you. PATH 4 is a product of distorted market economics. The grant 5 provided federal regulatory commission of 14.3 percent, a 6 guaranteed rate of return from the ratepayers in 13 7 states. It means that it’s impossible for a competitor 8 to develop for example, a natural gas plant or for the 9 market that PATH intends to reach in I think New Jersey 10 because it’s economically unfair. 11 And because PATH has been favored with 12 a subsidy that competitors cannot equal. So right off 13 the bat this is not a market economics at work. This is 14 government subsidy for a highly costly and disruptive 15 power in the systems. You’ve heard people describe some 16 of the costs of the transmission line. When FERC granted 17 the incentives this was following the policy of economic 18 dispatch and this was to provide the least cost of power 19 to the market and then saying that there was suggestion 20 because these cost power, which was coal power, could not 21 reach the New Jersey market. 22 But of course least cost is really an 23 oxymoron because all the costs of the transmission line 24 have been ignored. All of the costs to property owners, 25 to the property values have been ignored. The lost

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1 revenue to county governments have been ignored. All of 2 the costs of the pollution caused by the power plants in 3 the Ohio River Valley that will be producing this power 4 have been ignored, all of the health impacts. All the 5 impacts on national parks and forests and parks have been 6 ignored. And strangely the real costs of better 7 reliability have been ignored. 8 A study by the Department of Energy in 9 the Canadian government looked at the causes of blackouts 10 and the causes of the great blackouts that we have read 11 about in 2004 had nothing to do with lack of transmission 12 lines. Blackouts are a scare that have been touted by 13 the PATH advocates. But the failures that have caused 14 blackouts have been management caused and a 15 transformation of the lack of transmission lines to 16 carry. And the addition of the more wire to our system 17 will not increase reliability. 18 The interesting fact is that demand is 19 down significantly not just because of the recession but 20 because efficiency has increased. And all of the 21 projections that have been used by PJM and PATH advocates 22 to justify this line have been, have been proved wrong. 23 They projected demand that has gone in fact significantly 24 down last year and decreasing this year for many reasons. 25 States have their own energy efficiency laws and the

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1 State of New Jersey is a leader. The markets for PATH 2 power and the deficiency and the impacts of renewable 3 efficiency have vastly diminished the demand for this 4 kind of power generation and this is likely to continue. 5 The other factor that’s already been 6 mentioned is that natural gas prices have been reduced by 7 more than half since 2007. So that the alternative of 8 natural gas being powered in New Jersey, produced in New 9 Jersey, is very effective and in supply of natural gas 10 has been mentioned is increasing. There is no indication 11 that natural gas supplies will diminish. So that the 12 favoritism to coal power and this costly transmission 13 line is again totally uneconomic. 14 Now lastly, let me just say that the 15 decision process that PATH has been following is in all 16 three states unfair and has been unfair to citizens on 17 many grounds. Interestingly and I’ve spent my career in 18 the environmental and energy arena and focused on 19 environmental impacts and so forth. This Federal Energy 20 Regulatory Commission ignored the Natural Environmental 21 Policy Act when it granted the incentive awards of 14.3 22 percent to the PATH applicants. And no analysis was done 23 at that time of the impacts and the alternatives to that 24 proposal. That would have been a time to do a truly, 25 quote, dramatic impact statement, because it was clear

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1 what the basic route would be, that would be the basic 2 corridor that was quite clear and very much like an 3 interstate route where impact statements are done on 4 corridors. So it ignored that and somehow was not 5 challenged. 6 But the abuses continue because 7 citizens cannot equal the ability of PATH applicants to 8 advertise, to call for experts, lawyers and all on the 9 basis of the 14.3 percent lure and the grant of all 10 planning construction costs to the applicants from the 11 ratepayers in 13 states. There is no way citizens can 12 equal that resource in trying to present an argument and 13 facts to the various state commissions that would suggest 14 that this is a very poorly thought out proposal. So I 15 would just conclude that I hope that you as a Commission 16 will represent not only the citizens of West Virginia but 17 the national interests in your very difficult decision to 18 weigh the facts and to look toward a long term future for 19 our country and the next generation. Thank you. 20 CHAIR: 21 Thank you. Yes, ma’am. 22 MS. WIDMIRE: 23 Hello. I just have a point of order. 24 My name is Lynn Widmire and I’m on the Jefferson County 25 Commission. And when we are intervenors but I’m also a

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1 local resident who lives in the county. I didn’t know 2 whether I could testify from that view point. 3 CHAIR: 4 We will not let the resident of the 5 county commission testify because the county commission 6 was an intervenor. 7 MS. WIDMIRE: 8 Thank you. 9 CHAIR: 10 Anyone else? Yes, sir. 11 MR. LATTERELL: 12 Thank you. My name is Richard 13 Latterell, L-A-T-T-E-R-E-L-L. My Post Office is 14 Shepherdstown Box 3609. However, for almost the past 40 15 years I lived in one of these rural hamlets known as 16 Boulders Crossroads at 364 Mountain Road in Jefferson 17 County. I was at the meeting last night. I was unable 18 to testify because I realized when I got here that I come 19 up without my glasses and I couldn’t possibly read my own 20 scribble. I’ve expurgated my remarks. You probably 21 heard enough about the hazards of toxic radiation and 22 magnetic fields surrounding power lines. 23 So I’ll exclude my experimental 24 evidence comparing those hazards. I will also forgo any 25 further comment about the abuses of the landowners by

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1 power companies through their establishment of right of 2 ways. I’d like to address a point that hasn’t been 3 touched on but that I find particularly significant to 4 the citizens of Jefferson County. I might add in my 5 introduction that I am a --- I’m a professor at the 6 Shepherd College now Shepherd University. 7 Considering the --- it can and it will 8 be argued that PATH is purchasing tracts of land rather 9 than merely establishing rights of way for their 10 transmission line. Such circumstance can furnish no 11 benefit on the general public which is taxpayers and rate 12 payers indirectly pay all cost of the PATH project 13 including all forms of speculation. Some of the lands 14 that PATH has purchased are under some form of protective 15 easement. As is my farm incidentally which has been in 16 the farmland protection program of Jefferson County for 17 the past five years though it’s not in the PATH corridor. 18 So I am speaking with general interest 19 rather than a personal interest in relation to the PATH 20 project. And some of the lands purchased by PATH are 21 under some form of protective easement and therefore 22 useless to PATH for their purposes while they remain in 23 that condition. Plainly, PATH is betting on what they 24 hope is a sure thing that they can get all protective 25 easements removed from those lands that they purchased.

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1 This will enable them to establish their rights of way 2 for the transmission lines and just incidentally to 3 profit from the sale of the expendable contiguous lands 4 now reopened for development. 5 That’s a sure clue whether it’s 6 extremely devious and certainly contradictory to the 7 public interest. In fact, such a scheme is intrical to 8 the public interest which must bear the loss of valuable 9 and increasingly scarce farmland. Plus the loss of green 10 space presenting insidious forest which are the major 11 elements in the life support system of the eastern United 12 States. Further particularly ominous and virtually 13 inevitable corollary to the success of this devious 14 scheme would be the legal precedent established. 15 Under the aegis of said precedent and 16 analogous use, the local developers speculator or land 17 speculator which inspires profit from the organization in 18 Jefferson County might well employ analogous strategists, 19 diversive lands like my farmland which are developed by 20 conservation easements and/or zoning and to subject them 21 to renewed small development. Under the road of 22 Jefferson County, historic Jefferson County would be 23 obliterated, paved over and superceded by a sterile and 24 dysfunctional urban peabody of people. 25 In summary, I submit that never in my

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1 10 to 12 years of advocating a sustainable development 2 and imposing --- in Jefferson County never have I had the 3 occasion to be so proud of so many of my fellow citizens 4 for the quality of their testimony regarding the PATH 5 issue and for their courage in standing and delivering 6 the same. In particular the community to collaborate for 7 organizing and marshalling evidence against the PATH 8 project which deserves to be acknowledged. 9 Regarding the Public Service Commission 10 specifically I leave you with an admonition. The PATH 11 ball is now in your quasi-judicial court. I’m probably 12 the only person present today or last evening who has 13 ever gone head to head with the Public Service Commission 14 regarding an issue of improper use of utilities to 15 promote unsustainable development in Jefferson County. 16 Regrettably that encounter was not gratifying. I hope we 17 can do better in relation to the PATH project. 18 Accordingly, I am to remind the Commissioners and 19 encourage them with their sworn commitment of service to 20 the interest of the general public as opposed to the 21 interest special political interest. This requires no 22 more than objective contemplation and evaluation on the 23 testimony presented in these forms by the citizens of 24 Jefferson County. 25 Before the PATH project can proceed the

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1 PSC must issue a certificate indicating that PATH meets 2 the criteria of necessity and convenience to the general 3 public. Finally the burden of proof that the project 4 meets those criteria rests on the Applicant. I need to 5 point out as of today the supporters of the PATH project 6 have failed to make a credible case to conformity of the 7 project at either of these criteria. 8 Their claims that it will create jobs 9 and economic prosperity are incredibly weak to the point 10 of being fatuous. These are based on unsupportable 11 assertions, the favor of shyster lawyers and based on any 12 facts or valuable information. If I might attempt to 13 cause a loophole through which certification of 14 convenience and necessity might slip. Let me point out 15 there is no regional benefit. There is certainly no 16 local benefit in Jefferson County but there’s no regional 17 benefit in any part of the proposed PATH corridor. The 18 States of Maryland and Virginia are opposed to the 19 project as is the State of New Jersey which is the 20 purported beneficiary in the form of the PATH project. 21 The State of New Jersey also opposes 22 the PATH project, working very actively to develop an 23 alternative source of energy mainly renewable forms of 24 the same. Further the other counties through West 25 Virginia through which the PATH corridor traverses are

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1 also in opposition, also gaining momentum in those 2 counties. So if there is any regional benefit to the 3 PATH project it doesn’t extend beyond the boardrooms of 4 certain elements of Corporate America. Public testimony 5 hasn’t exposed PATH for what it is. 6 And public testimony has exposed PATH 7 as yet another bubble designed to guarantee profits on 8 the order of 14.3 percent to elements of Corporate 9 America, while the public assumes all the costs and all 10 of the risks and gains none of the profits. This time 11 I’m proud to say that Jefferson County, West Virginia the 12 public has emphatically declined to be so misled by 13 another bubble. Reduced to its essence PATH is a little 14 more than a scam against the public interest and should 15 be summarily rejected as unnecessary and irrational. 16 Thank you. 17 CHAIR: 18 Thank you, sir. Yes, sir. 19 MR. BURNS: 20 My name is David Burns, B-U-R-N-S. My 21 address is 11221 Leetown Road, Kearneysville, West 22 Virginia. I’d like to thank the Commission for being 23 here, for the opportunity to speak. It was actually duck 24 hunting with my 10-year old daughter two weeks ago at our 25 family farm on 340 and I looked up and I did realize one

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1 of the benefits of power lines running across your farm 2 and that is that you can see the duck above the 3 cornfields where they’re up there and know where they’re 4 going to be. So there is one benefit. I concur with 5 many of the speakers that have spoken today, Mr. 6 Funkhouser, Mr. Hilton and Doctor Litterell. And I echo 7 their sentiments. There are a couple of things that have 8 been obvious to me listening this morning and that is 9 that it has been said the people who are speaking for 10 PATH are standing to make money from it. And the people 11 that are speaking against PATH projecting many reasons 12 why it’s not good for this community or the state of West 13 Virginia. But I’m bringing to a little more local level 14 and talk about our family farm and the history. 15 In 1749 William Burns arrived in 16 Philadelphia and made his way down The Great Wagon Road 17 to Fredericktown. He left Scotland for two reasons. For 18 opportunity because he wanted to be left alone. In 1751 19 he married Joanna Van Metre whose family had arrived 100 20 years earlier. They settled on the banks of the Opeqon 21 Creek and began farming. I believe William would be 22 happy another 260 years later his great, great, great, 23 great grandchildren John Porter and Richard Burns carry 24 on his farming tradition of family farm, Beverly. 25 Coincident with Williams Burns arrival

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1 in 1749, Richard Stephenson purchased 100 acres from Yost 2 Hite, and subsequently was deeded two tracts on the 3 Bullskin Run by the proprietor of the Northern Neck. In 4 1750 Richard hired 18 years old George Washington to 5 survey the property. The original survey is displayed in 6 the Boston Public Library. Stephenson built a house 7 flanked by two stone outbuildings, this property is now 8 known Beverly. George Washington notes in his journal 9 entry of May 5, 1760 that he lodged at Mr. Stephenson. 10 In 1775 General George Washington issued a call for 11 Virginia Volunteer Riflemen to assist in the siege of 12 Boston. Richard’s son Hugh Stephenson left Beverly 13 raised a company, which departed from Morgan's Spring on 14 July 16, 1775. Their beeline march to Cambridge covered 15 600 miles in 24 days, and Washington is said to have 16 greeted his fellow Virginians with tears in his eyes. 17 Beverly is now threatened by the 18 proposed PATH project. Unfortunately it’s not the first 19 time that of any threat of eminent domain has been used 20 against this farm. In 1966 the existing 500 kV Old 21 Dominion power line was built across the farm. And in 22 1986 acreage was lost in the widening of Route 340 to 23 four lanes. Like the 17 year locusts, the threat of 24 eminent domain has returned. The court proposed line 25 deviates from the existing Old Dominion right of ways and

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1 crosses onto the farm. The proposed line crosses the 2 entire southern border of the farm ruining the only 3 portion of the land not yet affected. 4 If PATH is built along this line 5 Beverly will sit in the middle of the existing Dominion 6 500 kV high voltage line and the PATH 760 kV voltage 7 line. The Burns family has chosen to preserve the 8 farming traditions and this historic property instead of 9 selling out for easy profit. Unfortunately it seems that 10 every planner looking at an aerial map sees our farm as a 11 target. I can hear the conversations in the planning 12 rooms, hey, here's a big green space we can cross with 13 just one house on it, that way we won’t have to disturb 14 others whose houses were built a few years ago. 15 For eight generations and 260 years 16 this family has served this country well by putting food 17 on your tables, by paying taxes, and by answering the 18 nation's call in times of war. We haven’t asked for too 19 much in return. Not much more actually than William 20 Burns sought when he left Scotland in 1749, opportunity 21 and to be left alone. Please do not put the PATH line 22 across our family farm. 23 CHAIR: 24 Thank you, sir. All right. Are there 25 any others? Oh, I’m sorry. Yes, sir.

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1 MR. BURK: 2 My name is Martin Burk. I live at 1327 3 Terrapin Neck Road, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. I’m a 4 Commissioner on the Jefferson County Historic Landmark 5 Commission. The Jefferson County Historic Landmark 6 Commission operates under the authority granted to 7 Landmark Commission by the West Virginia legislature. 8 Its primary mission is to preserve historic structures 9 and resources within the unincorporated areas of 10 Jefferson County and to educate persons about heritage. 11 The Landmarks Commission focuses on heritage education as 12 far as preservation and historic resource development and 13 research. I'm making this presentation because the 14 Landmarks Commission is not registered as an intervenor 15 in this case. 16 The Landmark Commission objects to the 17 proposed PATH loop because it will pass over or through 18 six national registered properties. Nine properties 19 designated by the Jefferson County Historic Landmark 20 Commission, several historic districts and a Civil War 21 battlefield. Included in these are the White House Farm, 22 a national registered property, the Bullskin Run Historic 23 District which is an application pending, the Summit 24 Point historic district which is national registered 25 eligible, the battle of Summit Point, Civil War site

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1 which is recognized by the American Battlefield 2 Protection program, Rock Hall which is the George 3 Washington farm which is on the national register. 4 Blakely, another Washington house also on the national 5 register. Claymont Court, a national registered 6 property. Beverly, which we just heard about. Little 7 Ellenton. In total we estimate 40 identified historic 8 resources including houses, barns, historic districts, 9 mills and a battlefield will be affected by the degrading 10 the historic views along the proposed right of way. 11 The power lines and towers will corrupt 12 the historic contents of significant and nationally 13 recognized sites. By approving the pending application 14 you’ll be turning something that every one cherishes into 15 industrial wasteland. The Jefferson County Historic 16 Landmark Commission urges the Public Service Commission 17 to reject this application. Thank you. 18 CHAIR: 19 Thank you, sir. Yes, sir. 20 MR. HANNON: 21 My name is Ed Hannon, H-A-N-N-O-N. I 22 live at 199 Brannon Lane in Charles Town, West Virginia. 23 Before I get started I’d like to thank all three of you 24 together for coming up here and meeting with all of us. 25 The effect of all three of you meeting here as opposed to

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1 just one or two, all three of you get to see everybody’s 2 compassion both for and against this PATH project, 3 meaning your attentiveness to each in every speaker both 4 for and against and you should be commended on that that. 5 I want to start out by saying I had to take leave in 6 order to come here and speak this morning. I am not 7 being compensated to express my views or opinions. 8 I am opposed to the PATH project. I 9 currently live where the power lines are on my property. 10 And do not approve of the negative effect from a safety 11 standpoint that these lines have on my property and 12 myself. Today is a warm humid day. I invite you to come 13 out to my farm. I will turn off the power to my electric 14 fence that runs under the power lines. And then I would 15 invite you to take hold of the power --- the electric 16 fence as long as you can and tell me there is no threat 17 to life safety. You will endure a shock from the power 18 lines above. And these power lines are only at the lower 19 voltage than the ones proposed. 20 If you were to do this as a paramedic I 21 would have an automatic deliberator on hand in case your 22 heart went into ventricular defibrillation as a result of 23 this power lines. 24 CHAIR: 25 Well, we appreciate the invitation.

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1 MR. HANNON: 2 I’m looking out for your best interest 3 as well. Approving the PATH lines would also eliminate 4 the Blue Ridge Volunteer Department’s main station along 5 with their proposed new route. By eliminating this 6 station there would be immediate effect to life safety of 7 the citizens on the mountain. The delay in response time 8 for the two closest fire stations servicing this area 9 would be the difference in life and death for someone 10 calling for assistance on the mountain. To my knowledge 11 no provisions have been made to address this, the deadly 12 consequences of approving this PATH project to the 13 citizens on the mountain. 14 Now, what I’d like to do, I’d like to 15 ask the three of you to do something for me right now if 16 you could? Could all three of you please stand up? 17 CHAIR: 18 We don’t do tests. I’m not sure ---. 19 MR. HANNON: 20 Oh, it’s not a test. It’s --- you’ll 21 understand where I’m going if you honor this. 22 CHAIR: 23 No. You’re here to give your 24 presentation, Mr. Hannon. Go ahead. 25 MR. HANNON:

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1 Yes. And this is part of that 2 presentation. This will only take a minute, please. 3 CHAIRMAN: 4 Well, I don’t care if it’s going to 5 take ten seconds. We come up here to hear people. There 6 are a whole lot of people here. Finish your 7 presentation, sir. 8 MR. HANNON: 9 Okay. Well, what I was intending for 10 you to do is stand up and there would be symbolic of what 11 the citizens of Jefferson County are asking you to do. 12 We’re asking you to stand up against the pressure of the 13 corporate and special interest groups and stand up to do 14 the right thing for the citizens of Jefferson County. In 15 closing, I want to leave you with two questions that I 16 provided to you and to illustrate your response. And 17 these are two questions are as follows. What one thing 18 of statistical data did you receive that supports the 19 need for the PATH project? And was the statistical data 20 provided recent and relevant to the studies going on now? 21 And I have three envelopes for each one of you to respond 22 to these. These are self-addressed envelopes. All you 23 have to do is provide the information that I’m 24 requesting. 25 CHAIR:

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1 Mr. Hannon, we’re in the very early 2 stages of taking public protest along 14 counties, 220 3 some miles and 14 days of extra hearings. We’re not 4 going to indicate anything unless it’s through a well 5 reasoned and well decided order pursuant to our statutory 6 requirements. And I hate to disappoint you but you will 7 not get those envelopes back to us. 8 MR. HANNON: 9 Are you saying you do not have time to 10 address ---? 11 CHAIR: 12 What I’m saying is there is a statutory 13 process that we’re required by law to go through and 14 that’s what we’re following, sir. 15 MR. HANNON: 16 Okay. 17 CHAIR: 18 It doesn't include we as an individual 19 Commissioners sending out responses to that and I’m sorry 20 but that’s just the way the process works. 21 MR. HANNON: 22 Okay. Then how would you recommend 23 that I obtain this information? Obviously there’s a need 24 for information that I have not been able to obtain. 25 CHAIR:

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1 Well, again, there’s a process in 2 place. If you want to get information to either the 3 Consumer Advocate Division or to our Staff you can ask 4 them to suggest that. There are groups of intervenors 5 who are formed up here who have the opportunity to ask 6 questions and engage in discovery. There are any number 7 of ways you can do that. But directly soliciting from 8 the Commissioner is inappropriate, sir. We will speak 9 but we will speak through our orders. 10 MR. HANNON: 11 Okay. Well, I mean I don’t necessarily 12 agree with that but I do honor your commitment to this 13 project. 14 CHAIR: 15 All right. 16 MR. HANNON: 17 Thank you very much for your time. 18 CHAIRMAN: 19 Thank you for your comments. Yes. 20 MR. MCKECHNIE: 21 My name is Mike McKechnie. It’s 22 M-C-K-E-C-H-N-I-E. I live at 3026 Highest Ridge Road. 23 That’s in Berkley Springs, West Virginia where I live in 24 a solar powered house with some wind power as well. 25 First I’d like to thank you for being here at this and

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1 offering us the opportunity to express our current 2 interest or our dismay in this proposed project. I would 3 like to thank any of you that were on the Commission when 4 you approved the metering guidelines for the State of 5 West Virginia. I’d imagine about three years ago. Were 6 the three of you involved in that? 7 CHAIR: 8 We were. 9 MR. MCKECHNIE: 10 Great. That’s something we all fought 11 for very hard. People here in the eastern panhandle, 12 northern panhandle, all of West Virginia and our 13 understanding was it was a 15 or 20 year process to get 14 that innerconnection guideline approved. It’s something 15 that’s greatly improved. Renewable energy in the whole 16 State of West Virginia especially here in the eastern 17 panhandle. I applaud you for that. Thanks for doing 18 that. We’re one of the last seven states in the nation 19 to get that done. I'm hoping that we get some of that 20 same type of benefit here for this project. 21 I want to talk on a local level about 22 what’s happening right now in this part of the State of 23 West Virginia and other parts of the state as it pertains 24 to renewable energy. I'm a building contractor in 25 Berkley Springs, been there for 15 years. We are

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1 currently still working, we are working because we’re 2 building houses that are more resource efficient and 3 useless energy. In this downturn economic climate 4 especially in the housing industry where building 5 businesses go out of business every month. Suppliers go 6 out of business every month. Long term companies that 7 have been in this region. 8 With that type of decline we’re seeing 9 an increase in the building business that we have in 10 Berkley Springs. Not a tremendous increase but no 11 increase and no decline whatsoever. The other business 12 that we have is the renewable energy business that we 13 used to incorporate in the building business where we 14 would be putting solar panels for electricity generation, 15 solar panels for hot water generation to offset your 16 electricity needs for hot water. Small wind generators 17 and NGO thermal heating cooling systems. All four of 18 those are renewable energy and all four fall into the 19 federal state tax --- the incentive program and the 20 federal government as a tax credit. Not a tax incentive 21 but a real credit on the bottom line. Those are the four 22 processes by which our nation has determined that we 23 should incentivise every American including every West 24 Virginian. 25 On top of that, I was lucky enough to

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1 go down and speak to some of the Senators in Charleston 2 and Committee during their legislative session. And we 3 were there to speak about passing some sort of tax 4 incentive for the State of West Virginia. As most of you 5 probably know we have that now in West Virginia. It’s a 6 $2,000 tax credit to each West Virginia resident. If you 7 want to put renewable energy on your home or your 8 business, $2,000 for solar electricity and $2,000 for 9 solar hot water. That shows the state leaning in that 10 direction. We are an energy state and that’s clear. 11 Mostly we burn coal. 12 We also have a lot of hydropower. We 13 need a lot more alternative energy. Our nation, our 14 state, this region is working in that direction. On a 15 local level I want to talk about jobs and things like 16 that. We have a small company that’s tripled in size 17 just since the beginning of the year. We’re very busy. 18 We’re getting busier. We’re hiring people in this 19 particular region. We just hired a Shepherd graduate 20 from the environmental science department about three 21 months ago. We weren’t sure we had enough work for him. 22 It turns out he's got plenty of work. And we look to 23 hire more graduates from this University. 24 One of our engineers is right across 25 the river and we just recently hired a union electrician

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1 from the Baltimore local. He's extremely excited about 2 working with our company in the renewable energy sector. 3 So we’re hiring people which means that we're working, 4 which means that we’re busy, which means we’re making 5 money. We’re doing this in the local environment because 6 we’re being asked to. So when we see economic downturn 7 economy, we have people giving us rather sizable chunks 8 of money to put these systems on their homes, businesses 9 and farms. This is not something we're hoping to do, 10 it's not something that’s a proposal, not something that 11 we intend to do. It’s something we’re currently doing. 12 We’re hiring people, we’re paying 13 taxes, increasing the tax base, we’re paying our 14 extremely high Workers' Comp premium, which is another 15 topic, and we're helping them grow not only in this 16 community but the communities around us. This is 17 happening right now right and right here. We’re doing 18 that by putting these renewable energy systems on 19 people’s homes and businesses. Somebody spoke earlier 20 about localized generation versus distributed generation. 21 The PATH project is about distributed energy. I’m not 22 sure how many people in the room know how much energy is 23 lost from the point of production to the point of use. 24 You might all be surprised, it's around 25 67 percent of the energy produced is lost during the

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1 transmission process. That’s a horrific model. It 2 really can’t continue. This transmission line that’s 3 being proposed would also lose at least two thirds of the 4 energy that’s produced. So where does it make any sense 5 when you produce 100 percent of something to lose two 6 thirds of it while you’re taking it to where you’re 7 going? It's a bad model and it doesn’t work. It doesn't 8 work here and it doesn’t working others parts of our 9 country. 10 Yes, we do a need a better distribution 11 system. We need an updated utility --- a smart way and 12 you probably read about that and learned about it. It’s 13 something that we need. We need to make it safer for 14 linesman, for the electricians. But what we don’t need 15 is this sort of massive pipeline of energy that is going 16 to the second most incentivised state in the country, New 17 Jersey. They have the largest amount of increased solar 18 energy production. They don’t need it as much. They’re 19 growing extremely fast. 20 The next topic is renewable portfolios. 21 We’re lucky to have a standard in place in West Virginia. 22 Somebody spoke about it earlier. There’s renewable 23 portfolio standards in the states around us. Every 24 couple years, five years or so a percent of energy from a 25 renewal standpoint increases mandated by the Public

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1 Service Commission of those individual states. It’s not 2 holding steady. It’s growing every year. In 2015 3 there’s a standard, 2020, 2025, that's incentivising and 4 increasing the amount of renewable energy that’s being 5 installed. That’s local jobs. That's local energy and 6 its point of use where you don’t waste energy, which is 7 really what’s most important. 8 This is already happening. I urge you 9 not to pass this PATH program. We need a PATH but we 10 need a PATH in a more doable direction. It works right 11 here. It's working for us. We’re hiring people. People 12 are giving us money to do it. It’s going to continue to 13 grow. Not only in this part of the country but in the 14 entire country. It follows that model of the rest of the 15 world. We’re trying to catch up to that and this is 16 exactly what we don’t need. So I encourage you to look 17 at that carefully. And thank you very much. 18 CHAIR: 19 Thank you for your comments. Yes, 20 ma’am. 21 MS. CALDWELL-BURNS: 22 Good morning. My name is Elizabeth 23 Caldwell-Burns. I reside at 209 Pleasant Valley Drive in 24 Charles Town, West Virginia. I am a lifelong resident of 25 West Virginia. Born and raised in Charleston. I’ve

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1 resided in Jefferson County for five years. Thank you 2 for the opportunity to speak about the proposed PATH line 3 that is currently before the Commission. As you’re aware 4 there’s tremendous public opposition to this project as 5 it is currently proposed in Jefferson County. There are 6 many valid reasons why people are opposed to this 7 government supported subsidy of private electric 8 companies. 9 However, I would briefly like to 10 explain to you why I personally oppose PATH. Private 11 property rights, in its application the various PATH, 12 LLCs are requesting that you designate them as public 13 utilities, which will give them power to invoke eminent 14 domain proceedings against landowners. This is an abuse 15 of the 5th amendment to the Constitution of the United 16 States, especially within the context of the current 17 structure of the various PATH LLC shell corporations 18 created to limit liability. These private companies 19 should not be granted the ability to seize West Virginia 20 citizen's land so that they can run their extension cord 21 up to the North East. 22 We’ve already witnessed the Maryland 23 Public Service Commission deny the Applicants' petition 24 in Maryland due to the fact that the Applicants are not 25 actually electric companies but rather these shell

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1 corporations I just mentioned. According to West 2 Virginia Code the basis for meeting the definition of a 3 public utility is that the entity must provide a public 4 service. The PATH LLCs will not provide any public 5 service to the citizens of West Virginia and are actually 6 imposing negative financial and environmental burdens on 7 us while we receive zero benefit from this proposed line. 8 I’m all for private companies maximizing their profit but 9 this should be done in a free market environment. 10 AEP/Allegheny will make billions of 11 dollars of profits over the lifetime of this line, yet 12 the West Virginia landowners who will have the towers and 13 lines running through their property get nothing but 14 unhealthy exposure to high EMF levels, destroyed 15 viewsheds, below market value for right of way easements 16 and continued tax liability for property that will be 17 forever worthless. Property rights are the foundation of 18 the United States of America and should be protected from 19 seizure by private for profit companies. 20 My next point is need versus economic 21 wants. The only persons who claim this line is needed 22 are those who stand to profit from it. The Applicant's 23 have set forth their position regarding need in their 24 application, however, it seems that there’s been no 25 independent study that has verified this claim of need.

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1 They will state that PMJ has told them the PATH line must 2 be built for reliabilities reasons; however, AEP is the 3 largest member of the PJM conglomerate so one could 4 hardly call that and independent body. AEP/Allegheny 5 will enjoy a guaranteed quarter million dollars of profit 6 if this project is approved, on the backs of West 7 Virginia ratepayers who will receive not one single volt 8 of electricity from this line. 9 The Applicants do not assume any 10 liability or risk in undertaking this project, yet they 11 are guaranteed to make $257 million if they get it built 12 at the current $1.8 million cost estimate. There is zero 13 incentive for AEP and Allegheny to not build this line so 14 perhaps a double measure of skepticism should be used 15 when relying on the statistical data provided by the 16 Applicants to prove their need. 17 This project bears no resemblance of 18 how a free market system operates and it’s really just 19 another example of corporate welfare. As PJM executives, 20 FERC authorities, and even West Virginia Governor Joe 21 Manchin himself stated in the minutes of the May 13, 2005 22 FERC conference held in Charleston West Virginia, the 23 goal of Project Mountaineer is to get coal-fired electric 24 power from distant Appalachian generation units to 25 densely populated areas around the eastern coast of U.S.

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1 This PATH line is an integral piece of Project 2 Mountaineer that was discussed at that conference. I 3 believe the Applicants are hiding the true motive of this 4 project which is higher profits or greater reliance on 5 coal generated electricity behind a façade of reliability 6 and need. 7 Lastly the whole approval procedure is 8 skewed in favor of the Applicants and the average citizen 9 has very little recourse in this process, a fact that 10 it’s currently being questioned in the Virginia Supreme 11 Courts with regard to the TrAIL line. Please keep in 12 consideration the lives and the property of your fellow 13 West Virginians when deliberating this application and 14 realize that your decision will directly and severely 15 impact the lives of many people in the state and in this 16 county. Respectfully submitted. 17 And if I may I'd like to share one 18 brief story that I came across yesterday that I think we 19 could all benefit from. An elderly carpenter was ready 20 to retire. He told us to the employer and contractor of 21 his plan to leave the house building business and live a 22 more leisurely life with his wife, enjoying his extended 23 family. He would miss the paycheck but he needed to 24 retire. They were not wealthy but they could get by. 25 The contractor was sorry to see a good worker go and

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1 asked if he could build just one more house as a personal 2 favor. The carpenter said, yes, but in time it was easy 3 to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted 4 to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It 5 was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the 6 carpenter finished his work and the builder came to 7 inspect the house the contractor handed the front door 8 keys to the carpenter. This is your house he said. This 9 is my gift to you for all your years as a faithful 10 employee. What a shock? What a shame? If he had only 11 known he was building his own house he would have done it 12 all so different. Now, he had to live in a home that he 13 had built not too well. So it is with us, we often build 14 our lives in a distracted way reacting rather than 15 acting, willing to accept less than the best. An 16 important point we don’t give the job our best effort 17 then with a shock we look at the situation we have 18 created and find that we are now living in a house we 19 have built not too well. If we had only realized we 20 could and would have done it so differently. 21 Think of yourself as a carpenter. 22 Think of the house, each day you hammer a nail or place a 23 board or erect a wall. Build wisely. It’s the only life 24 you will ever build even if you live for it for only one 25 more day that day deserves to be lived graciously and

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1 with dignity. Without a doubt, life is a do it yourself 2 project. Who could say it more clearly, your life today 3 is the result of the attitudes you form and the choices 4 you made in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the 5 result of the attitudes you formed and the choices you 6 made today. Choose wisely. Build carefully and live a 7 great life. And so I petition you again to please think 8 of the loss of the citizens in this great state and 9 county that would be affected by the PATH line. Thank 10 you. 11 CHAIR: 12 We appreciate your comments. I don’t 13 know who’s left. We’ve gone through most of the audience 14 I think. Is there anybody else who cares to speak? All 15 right. I want to thank you for your attentiveness. I 16 want to thank you for your input. As I indicated in 17 response to earlier suggestions we have a long trail 18 ahead of us. No pun intended. And what we will do is to 19 give consideration to all the thoughts you requested and 20 those we’re required to consider by statute. Thank you 21 very much for your attentiveness. 22 * * * * * * * * 23 HEARING CONCLUDED AT 10:17 A.M. 24 * * * * * * * * 25

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1 2 CERTIFICATE 3 4 I hereby certify, as the stenographic reporter, 5 that the foregoing proceedings were taken 6 stenographically by me, and thereafter reduced to 7 typewriting by me or under my direction; and that this 8 transcript is a true and accurate record to the best of 9 my ability. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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