First Energy plans to replace the wooden towers supporting an existing 138 kilovolt power line (left side of image above) with steel monopoles that will support that line plus a new 500 kilovolt line.
First Energy held an open house in Shepherdstown on August 13 to share details about a new 500 kilovolt power line that will begin near Winchester VA, cross Jefferson County into Maryland, and terminate in Loudoun County VA.
First Energy says the new line will remain in the right of way of an existing 138 kilovolt line except for two short segments around the Feagan’s Mill and Millville substations. First Energy says it will file its plans with the WV Public Service Commission as early as October of this year and begin construction in 2027 to have the line in service by 2030.
The utility company is referring to this project as “Gore-Doubs-Goose Creek Improvements Project” (GDGC). The new First Energy line would connect with the “Mid Atlantic Resiliency Link” (MARL) transmission line that energy company NextEra is proposing to construct between Morgantown and Winchester.
First Energy says it plans to use steel monopoles for the GDGC line in Jefferson County. The company provided a graphic (image above) showing 500 kilovolt wires hanging from the longer arms on the left and 138 kilovolt wires hanging from the shorter arms on the right. The company estimates the top of the monopoles will be 185 feet above the ground. For comparison, the existing wooden “H” frame towers (shown below the monopole in the image) are 64 feet tall and the existing steel lattice towers (shown to the right of the monopole) are 120 feet tall.
Power For Data Centers
For the past two years, PJM Interconnect, the regional electric grid operator, has been pushing to expand transmission capacity in the mid-Atlantic, largely in response to escalating demands for power from data centers in northern Virginia. Electricity use by Virginia data centers has increased eightfold in the past ten years, and is projected to do the same again within the next five years.
State Review Process
The county commissions of Monongalia, Mineral, Preston, and Hampshire counties have all voted to formalize their opposition to the MARL segment of the project and have indicated an intent to pursue “intervenor” status with the WV Public Service Commission when it takes up the review of that case later this year. The Jefferson County Commission sent a letter to PJM Interconnection earlier this year requesting the grid operator to consider alternate routes outside of the county. The Commission is likely to discuss this project again at an upcoming meeting, based on recent comments shared with The Observer by several commissioners.
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Published 2025 Aug 15 in the Observer Weekly. Updated 2026 Jun 11 (updated image).
By Steve Pearson