The effects of energy choices on the Piedmont are real. Our region is being targeted for major transmission lines, and we can expect to see proposals for power plants and other generation facilities. Renewed interest in uranium mining in Virginia raises the threat of radioactive contamination. We deal with air pollution, from both local sources and distant coal plants. And, we face the intensifying challenge of climate change.

To protect the Piedmont, PEC has stepped up as a national leader, pushing for increased efficiency, demand management and clean, distributed generation. Through initiatives like our Energy Smart Solutions guide, we are providing people with opportunities for direct action-because individual choices do make a difference. In 2009, dropping demand for electricity put the brakes on one major transmission line project in our region and scaled down another.

PEC Moves Efficiency Forward as Dropping Demand Stops the PATH Line

PEC's new EnergySmart Solutions campaign is putting resources into people's hands that show how they can save substantially on their energy bills. The guide identifies ten low-cost, high-return do-it-yourself projects that could cut energy use for the average home by about 20%. (To put that in perspective, in 2009, a drop in energy use of less than 4% threw the energy industry into turmoil and caused them to call back proposals for new infrastructure, including the 765-kV PATH line.)

The ten strategic projects featured in PEC's user-friendly EnergySmart Solutions guide would cost a consumer about $500 and could result in savings of about $375 the first year, with higher annual savings in the future. PEC is planning to send the guide to every home in our region, like our Buy Fresh Buy Local guides. Early in 2010, the guides reached every home in eight counties.

2009 Highlights

• In early 2009, PEC won a federal case restoring to states their right to deny proposed transmission lines. The U.S. Supreme Court has since refused a request by a consortium of utilities to overturn PEC's win in the Fourth Circuit.
• The proposal for the 765-kV PATH line through Loudoun and other Virginia counties was withdrawn because of a drop in demand for electricity, due in part to energy conservation and efficiency. PEC was a respondent in the successful case against PATH, which drew heavily on expertise and analysis that came out of the fight we led against the 500-kV TrAIL line.
• The proposed Loudoun-Middleburg 230-kV line expansion was scaled back from 9.5 miles to 4 miles, due to declining demand for electricity and opposition from landowners, whom PEC helped to inform and mobilize.
• PEC President Chris Miller testified before Congress at a hearing on "The Future of the Grid." Rather than a massive "new national grid," PEC is arguing for a smarter grid with cleaner, more distributed generation and an emphasis on energy efficiency-a position that is gaining traction nationwide.
• PEC alerted land conservationists nationwide to the potential impact of an expanded transmission grid, with an article in the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) magazine and seminars at the annual LTA Rally.
• PEC marshaled scientific expertise from around the country in an effort to shape the scope of study planned by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission regarding the safety of mining uranium in Virginia.
• PEC used our online advocacy tools to build citizen support for the promising Loudoun Energy Plan, which aims to reduce the energy footprint of the county.
• PEC joined local innovators at the dynamic Alternative Energy Expo held each summer in Warrenton.

Read more from the 2009 PEC Annual Report >>