Rapid developments in the electric industry, especially in wholesale markets, have prompted the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to extend its review of a utility's plans to add to its transmission system. Appalachian Power Co., an operating member of the American Electric Power (AEP) system, had asked the SCC for authority to construct a 765-kilovolt transmission line between substations in West Virginia and Virginia.
The SCC noted that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) open-access rulemaking "has the potential of shifting a utility's focus from traditional core businesses to bulk-power markets." Since Appalachian's affiliation with AEP positions it to take advantage of competitive bulk-power markets, the SCC felt that additional consideration of the