Rice-Ringgold Transmission Line Project

planned

Transource Energy plans to build a 29-mile-long 230-kilovolt transmission line with 130-foot-tall steel monopoles through the Cumberland Valley, from a proposed substation in Southampton Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, to an existing FirstEnergy substation in Smithsburg, Washington County, Maryland. The project aims to alleviate power grid congestion, provide low-cost energy to communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and promote long-term economic development. The preferred route follows Interstate 81 through Greene and Guilford townships, with two alternate routes also proposed. The project was previously denied by state regulators but advanced after federal court rulings. Franklin County withdrew its opposition in exchange for a settlement of up to $9 million.