FirstEnergy and AEP announced this week they are teaming with Dominion Energy Virginia to propose building transmission lines across Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The announcement comes as a result of PJM’s Regional Transmission Expansion Planning (RTEP) process, which identifies high voltage transmission solutions to regional power constraints. PJM planning documents show Ohio and AEP are positioned to export power through West Virginia to the Washington DC area, where many data centers cluster, if new transmission lines are built.

The announcement has caught attention locally, as it appears to contradict these same utilities’ claims of a local power shortage, while positioning Ohio to export its electricity out of state.10/9/2024