Appeal Of PATH Decision Heads To Court In Md.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- A court in Frederick is hearing a utility company's appeal of a zoning board decision that blocked a key component of a proposed multistate power line.

The hearing involving the Potomac-Appalachian Transmission Highline is set for Monday morning.

Potomac Edison wants the court to overrule the denial of its plan to build an electrical substation near Mount Airy. The
substation would include 15 steel towers up to 175 feet high on land zoned for agriculture.

The company says the substation is needed for a 275-mile transmission line across parts of West Virginia, Virginia and
Maryland.

Potomac Edison is a unit of Allegheny Energy, owned by FirstEnergy Corp, of Akron, Ohio. Allegheny proposed the PATH project in conjunction with American Electric Power Co. of Columbus, Ohio.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)