PPL won't build power line through Sinking Spring

by Steve Reinbrecht

PPL Electric Utilities announced Thursday that it has changed its plans for the location of a 69,000-volt power line that had been slated to go through Sinking Spring.

"I'm tickled pink," said borough Councilman Brian Hoffa. 

Many officials and residents opposed the plan, fearing it would destroy Sinking Spring’s plans to attract grants and investment to improve traffic congestion and create a housing and shopping district. Property owners seemed united in not wanting to sell.

That the line will avoid the borough completely was a better outcome than Hoffa expected.

It's a strong signal that the borough's ambitious project has true momentum, he said.

"We're getting tons of support."

From PPL

Instead, the power company will install the line underground in Spring Township, primarily under streets, including Van Reed Road and North Dwight Street, according to a news release.

Initial plan in Sinking Spring

Officials from Sinking Spring, Wyomissing, Spring Township, and Alcon, and state Sen. David Argall and state Rep. Jim Cox opposed the project

Here is the company’s news release, verbatim: 

PPL Electric Utilities shifts location

of proposed transmission line in Berks County

Vital reliability link will be built underground

PPL Electric Utilities has shifted the location of a planned transmission line in the Sinking Spring area of Berks County and will also build it underground.

The utility Thursday (1/19) said a planned overhead 69-kilovolt transmission line initially proposed in Spring Township, Sinking Spring and Lower Heidelberg Township will instead be built underground in Spring Township, primarily under streets including Van Reed Road and N. Dwight Street.

Without the new line, thousands of customers in the region could potentially face long outages in the event of a transmission system problem.

“PPL continued to study the above-ground route over the last several months. Based on that review, the underground option evolved as the best balance of all the factors we consider when making vital investments like this,” said Stephanie Raymond, vice president of Transmission and Substations for the utility. “The project will help ensure that the long-term performance of the grid meets the needs of our customers.”

The company has involved local and state officials, as well as residents, in power line discussions.

Placing the new line underground does not signal a change in philosophy for PPL, whose transmission lines remain primarily above ground. “Each project is unique and each must be considered in light of technical and line route factors,” Raymond said.

PPL will hold a public open house this winter to discuss details of the new underground route. The time, date and location of that open house are still being finalized. Details will be communicated by mail and through local media.

Argall wants to change law to help Sinking Spring defend against PPL power line

by Steve Reinbrecht

State Sen. David Argall is trying to drum up lawmaking support for two bills that would help Sinking Spring block a 69,000-volt power line from brutally disrupting its renaissance plans.

He posted a Senate “cosponsorship memo” Oct. 4 to solicit support for the two proposals.

Argall expects they will be adopted in time to help the borough, said Jon Hopcraft, Argall’s legislative aide.

“There’s been a ton of investment by the state, the county, the borough,” he said last week. “We don’t want to see it squandered away on account of a transmission line.”

The “proposed transmission line … has outraged the local community as well as hampered major economic development efforts,” Argall wrote in the memo. “My goal is to provide a balanced approach to the needs of the utility while taking into account the wants and needs of the municipality and its residents.”

Argall’s bills would make two changes to Title 66 (Public Utilities). One would add a section requiring that the municipalities approve the plans.

“No transmission line for electricity may be constructed within a municipality unless the governing body of the municipality approves construction of the transmission line according to the criteria established by the municipality.”

The second change would require that the Public Utility Commission conduct public hearing of a proposed transmission line. PPL held a public meeting in Wyomissing on Sept. 22 about its plans for Sinking Spring. Some who attended complained about how it was managed.

“The commission shall conduct a public hearing in the municipality in which a transmission line for electricity is proposed. The public hearing shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposal,” the bill says.

Sinking Spring farmer opposes PPL’s plans to run high-voltage line across his land

by Steve Reinbrecht

A farmer who owns land that PPL Electric Utilities needs to build a new transmission line in Southwestern Berks County has vowed not to sell the necessary easement.

“We’re fighting it,” said Harvey Brown, who owns 78 acres off Reedy Road, along the Cacoosing Creek in Sinking Spring. “We don’t want it to go over our land.”

PPL Electric Utilities says it needs the 69,000-volt power line, along with a 100-foot-wide right-of-way, to improve the reliability of the power grid.

Mr. Brown’s wife, Mary, said PPL’s plans have upset a lot of neighbors, some of whom are worried about health risks from living close to a high-voltage line.

“We don’t want to look out our window at it.”

The Browns stand with Sinking Spring borough, whose officials have said the line would wreck their long-developed plans for new stores and homes downtown.

And Randy Robitzer has said the line would destroy his 18-hole Village Greens golf course in the borough and make it hard to ever sell the land.

Mr. Brown said PPL officials talked to him about buying an easement a year ago but not since.

Mrs. Brown said she went door-to-door about PPL’s plans in nearby neighborhoods about two months ago and was surprised to learn that no one was aware of them.

“They’re being very sneaky about it,” she said of the power company.

PPL held an informational meeting Sept. 22 in Wyomissing to discuss the plans with residents. Mrs. Harvey said the meeting was ineffective. There were not enough chairs and no one from PPL spoke with a microphone to present the plans, she said.

“That was a big farce,” she said.

Mr. Brown said borough officials were upset with a headline in the Reading Eagle that suggested the fight couldn’t be won.

The Berks County Planning Commission has noted two concerns about the line's proposed location. First, using the proposed location may detrimentally affect the borough's “BOSS 2020" revitalization plans, according to a letter to PPL dated Aug. 26 from the commission’s executive director, Shannon Rossman.

Second, it would impinge on a proposed park around the historic sinking spring, on a parcel between Dunkin' Donuts and the railroad tracks.

"This spring is the namesake of the borough and a key part of their master plan," Rossman wrote.

The commission urged the company to work with the borough and others to reduce the effect of the line on the plans.

Consultant: Sinking Spring needs expert legal help to fight PPL

by Steve Reinbrecht

The consultant in charge of fulfilling Sinking Spring’s revitalization thinks it’s time to hire a specialized lawyer to spearhead the fight against PPL Electric Utilities’ plans to run a 69-kilowatt transmission line through the borough.

The borough will hold its monthly revitalization meeting tonight, Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m., and the topic is sure to arise, said the consultant, Sam Loth, shepherd of the BOSS2020 project.

The public is welcome.

The power company says it needs the line, and a 100-foot-wide easement under it, to make the local electrical grid more reliable. The company is not considering options.

Borough officials say the line would destroy their plans to fix intersections and build shops and housing. The project has had more than $5 million in investment, according to Loth.

PPL has backed off from similar proposals in other places, and perhaps an experienced lawyer could find out how others have beaten a giant utility, he said.

Based in Allentown, PPL has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year.

“Spend the five grand it’s going to take to hire a big-gun lawyer,” Loth said Wednesday.

The borough has many people lined up with it. Opponents of the PPL plan includes the borough council, planning officials, dozens of residents and state Rep. Jim Cox and state Sen. Dave Argall.

Landowner Randy Robitzer says he won’t grant an easement to PPL through the golf course he owns on the route.

I've had trouble reaching council members, but one told me he opposes PPL's plan.

“The borough most definitely should try to stop this. It will directly affect our redevelopment efforts by taking away valuable land,” Councilman Brian Hoffa told me in an e-mail Oct. 6.

“Obviously, as a member of council and a resident directly across from the proposed power line, I do NOT want to see this power line installed. This will be a severe detriment to our redevelopment efforts as well as spoiling a lot of nature-scape,” he wrote.

PPL defends decision to run power line through Sinking Spring

by Steve Reinbrecht

PPL Electric Utilities says the transmission line it plans to run through Sinking Spring is necessary to keep the electric grid strong and provide backup power during outages.

The electric company says there is little evidence such lines affect property values or create dangerous emissions.

Sinking Spring officials say the transmission line would wreck its plans for major redevelopment of the downtown.

PPL still needs to acquire easements, including in the Village Greens Golf Course along Broad Street. The owner, Randy Robitzer, said selling the easement would destroy his business and retirement plans.

Borough officials hope to develop the course as housing someday.

In a letter dated Sept. 30, the power company provided answers to "frequently asked questions" about the project.

This is a verbatim copy:

PPL Electric Utilities
State Hill – Berkshire Transmission Line
Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is PPL Electric Utilities proposing in the Sinking Spring area?

A: PPL plans to build a 1.3-mile 69kV transmission line that will tap into two existing transmission lines in the Sinking Spring area. The line is not designed to operate at more than 69 kilovolts. Single steel poles along the line are expected to be between 90 and 105 feet tall.

Q: Why is this project necessary?
A: Without this project, many customers could be left without power for an extended period of time if problems develop on the system due to strong storms, equipment failure, or other factors.

Q: My electric service is very dependable. Why add this line when there doesn’t seem to be a problem?
A: Part of PPL’s job is to ensure safe and reliable power and be ready to restore power in the event of an outage. This new line not only gives us a second source of power to feed local substations in Sinking Spring and Wyomissing, but it also helps us keep the grid strong and more dependable in the larger region.

Q: Won’t this new power line hurt Sinking Spring’s development plans?
A: We have already committed to avoiding conflicts with road relocation projects in Sinking Spring. Should development envisioned by the BOSS 2020 plan occur, we are willing to consider options for mitigating the effects of the line, which is tentatively scheduled to be in service in mid-2018. Mitigation for development can occur after the line is built.

Q: Did you choose this route because it is the least expensive to build?
A: Cost is one of a variety of factors we consider when building a new power line. All of our 1.4 million customers pay for improvements to the grid through their bills. We also consider things like potential effects on the environment, including the amount of any forested land that may have to be cleared.

Q: Won’t this power line hurt our property values?
A: We have no evidence that there is a long-term effect on property values from a project like this. There are numerous examples across our service territory where both commercial and residential development is close to our lines. The Hamilton Crossings commercial development along Route 222 outside Allentown is one example.

Q: How extensive was PPL’s review of potential routes?
A: Over a period of several months, we evaluated numerous routes for this new line, including one suggested by Sinking Spring. We discussed the project with many stakeholders, including state Sen. David Argall and state Rep. Jim Cox. In the end, the currently planned route makes the most sense based on all factors.
Q: Don’t you have to get approval from the state Public Utility Commission?
A: Transmission line projects under 100 kilovolts do not require review or approval from the PUC. We consider the same factors and take the same steps for lines under 100 kilovolts that we would take to build larger lines.

Q: How much room will the power line take up?
A: Our standard right-of-way width on 69kV lines is 100 feet — 50 feet on each side of the power line.

Q: Will you be taking property to build the line?
A: PPL works with property owners in order to obtain easements that enable us to build and maintain the power line. The property owner retains ownership of the land and is paid for the easement based on the market value of the land. We work hard to reach amicable agreements for easements. Seeking eminent domain is a last resort.

Q: I’ve heard this new line won’t even be used. Is that true?
A: This new line will be energized when construction is complete and provide operational flexibility in the region.

Q: I’m concerned about electromagnetic fields that will be created by the new line.
A: Current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields. Power lines, home appliances and electrical wiring all produce these fields. For more information on EMF, you can visit pplelectric.com/emf.

PPL power line would destroy Sinking Spring golf course, owner says

by Steve Reinbrecht

Randy Robitzer said Monday that PPL Electric Utilities’ plans to build a 69,000-volt transmission line through Sinking Spring would destroy his golf course.

Village Greens Golf Course along Broad Street in Sinking Spring.

“It would virtually put me out of business.”

Robitzer owns and manages the 18-hole Village Greens Golf Course, which opened in 1969.

He “reluctantly” plans to meet with company officials this week.

PPL does not have easement rights for the proposed 1.3-mile line.

Borough officials are aghast at the power company’s plans, saying they would wreck their efforts to realign intersections, install new streets and build new shops and homes downtown.

PPL’s route would erase five holes along Broad Street, Robitzer said.

Besides possibly wrecking his business, the power line would squash his plans to sell the 32-acre parcel when he retires. The borough has approved plans for housing there.

The power line “will devalue my property and take away what I worked for my entire life.” “It’s really a hardship for us.”

He’d even lose his special “privately-owned private golf course club liquor license” if the course is shortened, he fears.

Map from PPL.

In a letter to Sinking Spring borough dated Sept. 9, Jessica Long, PPL regional affairs director, said the company has made a final decision on the route. Based in Allentown, the company has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year.

The borough’s two representatives in Harrisburg – state Rep. Jim Cox and state Sen. David Argall – have opposed PPL’s plan.

No one from their offices returned calls Friday or Monday.

PPL doesn’t have easements for Sinking Spring power line

by Steve Reinbrecht

PPL Electric Utilities does not have the easements it needs to run a 69-kilowatt power line through the middle of Sinking Spring, a move that borough leaders say would scramble their plans for redevelopment. An easement is an agreement with an owner to use land for a certain purpose, such as a utility line or access.

The company is still in talks with landowners – including a farmer, the owner of the Village Greens Golf Course, and the borough -- about getting easement rights, PPL spokesman Joe Nixon said Friday.

In a letter to Sinking Spring borough dated Sept. 9, Jessica Long, PPL regional affairs director, said the company has made a final decision on the route. Based in Allentown, the company has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year.

If negotiations fail and the company decides to use eminent domain to force a sale of the easement, it would have to apply to the state Public Utility Commission. 

Similar cases have had different outcomes this year.

In April, a Northumberland County judge’s ruling allowed PPL to pursue eminent domain for a 12-mile, 69-kilovolt power line near Meiserville.

The judge denied preliminary objections filed by landowners, according to the Daily Item of Danville.

In 2013, another judge had ruled in favor of landowners contesting the project. The Public Utility Commission overruled that and moved to allow PPL to exercise eminent domain to force the property sales. Commonwealth Court upheld that decision in 2014.

On the other hand, PPL canceled plans to build a transmission line in Cumberland County, the Central Penn Business Journal reported in March.

Just like the plan in Sinking Spring, that plan, calling for a 69-kilovolt line, generated controversy among landowners and neighbors, the Journal said.

The company said the move reflected "a new perspective" on the power system's needs, according to the Journal.  In a letter, PPL wrote that it had cancelled that project "as the result of continued evaluation of current and future electric grid needs in the Cumberland County region.”

Plans are tentative for when work would start on the Sinking Spring line, Nixon said. They call for four months of construction, starting at the end of 2017, Nixon said.

Sinking Spring officials say it will ruin their downtown renovation plans, which already has attracted millions of dollars. The line would have a 100-foot-wide [50 feet on each side]. The electric company has vowed it will not interfere with the borough’s plans to relocate streets, Nixon said. It is still talking with borough officials about exactly where to place poles, he said.

PennDOT, the state, Berks County and Sinking Spring have together spent more than $5.3 million over 8.5 years on the project. The borough's plans call for 450,000 square feet of commercial, office, retail and food operations, about 100 housing units and $60 million in private investment.

Home owners along the proposed line have said in meetings that they are worried about the line’s effect on their property values.

PPL hosted a public meeting about the plan Thursday night.

“It was a great turnout,” Nixon said, adding that 165 people had signed in.

The borough’s two representatives in Harrisburg – state Rep. Jim Cox and state Sen. David Argall – have opposed PPL’s plan.

In a June 29 letter, the lawmakers wrote:

“Locating a high voltage power line in the center of an existing community makes no sense to us … . We must insist that PPL reject this proposed plan.

“Our ongoing efforts to revitalize the downtown of this growing community will be endangered if this proposed transmission line is built. We are prepared to seek a legislative solution to this problem, if it becomes necessary.”

On Friday, a woman who answered the phone in Cox’s office referred questions to Argall’s office. A woman in the senator’s office said a representative had been at the meeting, but she didn’t call me back.

I wanted to ask the lawmakers if this is a done-deal or if they have a way to sway the utility without costing the borough extensive legal bills.

PPL won’t change plans for power line, invites opponents to town meeting

by Steve Reinbrecht

Despite opposition from all sides, PPL Electric Utilities has decided to run a 69,000-volt power line with a 100-foot-wide right-of-way through the middle of Sinking Spring, disrupting the borough’s ongoing development project.

“We have today received a letter from PPL stating that they plan to move forward on installing this line along the original route proposed over nine months ago,” Sam Loth wrote in an e-mail Monday afternoon. Loth is the coordinator of the BOSS 2020 Revitalization Committee, in charge of the borough’s renaissance.

Map from PPL

The electric company evaluated four other options and decided this one is the best, partly because it affects fewer land owners and has a lower cost, PPL spokeswoman Jessica Long wrote in the letter to the borough, dated Sept. 9.

For more information, she invites everybody to visit company officials between 6 and 8 p.m. Sept. 22 at the Inn at Reading, 1040 N.Park Road, Wyomissing.

“We intend to attend the Sept. 22 public meeting in force,” Loth wrote in his letter.

Loth says it’s hard to believe the power company decided to put the line through the borough even though company officials attended early meetings about the project.

PennDOT, the state, Berks County and Sinking Spring have together spent more than $5.3 million over 8.5 years on the project, Loth wrote.

State Sen. David Argall and state Rep. Jim Cox sent PPL a letter opposing the power-line route. Residents and Spring Township officials have opposed it.

The borough's plans call for 450,000 square feet of commercial, office, retail and food operations, about 100 housing units and $60 million in private investment.

PPL says the new power line is needed to make electric service more reliable for thousands of homes and businesses in Sinking Spring and the surrounding region. Based in Allentown, the company has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year.

Sinking Spring hopes politician can sway PPL’s high-voltage line plans

by Steve Reinbrecht

The electric company is not budging on its plans to run a high-voltage line through the middle of Sinking Spring, effectively gouging a 100-foot wide no-man’s-land through the middle of the borough’s renaissance plans.

PPL Electric Utilities is “continuing discussions” with borough officials and “other interested parties regarding our preferred route for the new transmission line,” spokesman Joe Nixon said in an e-mail.

He doesn’t mention any options to the path.

Sam Loth, in charge of Sinking Spring’s ambitious redevelopment project, says the battle has landed in the lap of state Sen. David Argall, a Republican who represents the area.

Argall supports the borough’s opposition to PPL’s proposed route, Christine Verdier, Argall’s chief of staff, told me in a call last week that. However, she said there hadn’t been meetings between Argall staff and PPL officials in the past couple of weeks, and that none had been scheduled. She said Argall has sent a letter to the power company opposing the placement of the wires.

“We haven’t got a whole lot of correspondence back from PPL,” she said.

Loth says it’s hard to believe the power company decided to put the line through the borough even though company officials attended early meetings about the project. Plans call for 450,000 square feet of commercial, office, retail and food operations, about 100 housing units and $60 million in private investment.

PPL says the new power line is needed to make electric service more reliable for thousands of homes and businesses in Sinking Spring and the surrounding region. Based in Allentown, the company has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year. 

The right-of-way is the issue, Loth said. It cuts the plans in half.

“We remain committed to avoiding interference with future road relocations,” Nixon wrote. The path appears clear of work planned at the major intersections.

But Loth said he’s not sure that even a park could be installed in the right-of-way.

“I’m not sure how many people would want to sit under high-tension wires.”

Map from PPL

Loth has asked the power company to bury the line, to no avail.

It would cost 10 times as much to bury the lines, with customers paying the bill, Nixon wrote. Also, it’s harder to fix underground lines.

“We don’t feel it would be appropriate to pass the cost of that work onto our customers when there is a viable above ground route. That is why we have determined that this line will be built above ground.”

A major concern for the borough is whether even a buried 65,000-volt line on the site would discourage the major private developers needed to fund most of the project, Roth said.

It’s not unusual for the company to build new lines in developed areas, Nixon wrote.

“Power lines need to be built close to the areas where our customers use electricity.”

An example of a recent project was the construction of the 5-mile Honey Brook – Twin Valley transmission line in Chester, Lancaster and Berks counties, Nixon wrote.

Sinking Spring residents vow to oppose PP&L power line

by Steve Reinbrecht

About 80 people sat or stood in Sinking Spring Borough Hall on Thursday to hear about PP&L’s plans to run a 69-kilovolt line through the borough and, officials say, fatally disrupt plans to improve traffic and shopping opportunities.

Appearing aghast, planner Sam Loth told the crowd that the electric company’s plans would flush eight years of work and $6 million of tax investment down the toilet.

Residents asked questions and vowed to fight the utility’s plans.

Borough Manager Michael Hart said he invited PP&L officials, who declined to come and said that they would arrange a meeting with residents. PP&L, based in Allentown, has about 10 million customers and saw $7.7 billion in revenues last year. 

In what they call BOSS2020, borough leaders have made plans to improve two bottle-neck intersections on Penn Avenue and make room for a downtown business district.

Residents and drivers will soon see concrete signs of the project, Loth said.

Sinking Spring says 69,000-volt line will clash with development plans

By Steve Reinbrecht

Here is a small town with big plans to fix up its business district versus a utility giant that wants to hang a new 69,000-volt line through it – which could snarl plans to improve some of the worst traffic in Berks County.

PP&L Electrical Utilities plans to build a new electrical line through the borough. Sinking Spring-area residents are invited to a council meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday night. I couldn't find an agenda on the borough website, but I expect the topic to come up.

Sinking Spring officials say the line would disrupt plans to redevelop the downtown, plans in the works for a long time and already at considerable taxpayer investment.

The line’s 100-foot right-of-way will go through downtown and affect revitalization and hundreds of residents, eliminating a wide path of development, Borough Manager Michael Hart said at a meeting in June, according to the Reading Eagle.

Poles that carry 69 kilovolts are typically wooden and 50 to 70 feet tall. The cleared right-of-way is typically 70-100 feet wide, according to Minnesota Electric Transmission Planning.

The line would cross Penn Avenue between Autozone and Paparone’s pizza shop, according to a map from PP&L.