In the near future, we will introduce legislation that establishes clear criteria for siting new high-voltage electric transmission facilities while standardizing the co-location process with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) highway rights-of-way.
 

Agriculture remains a leading economic driver in the Commonwealth, contributing $132 billion annually. However, our critical multi-million dollar public investments in preserved farmland are increasingly targeted by utility companies utilizing eminent domain for interstate high-voltage transmission lines. Furthermore, the Commonwealth faces escalating demands for electric generation resources and grid reliability. By utilizing existing transportation corridors for new transmission line deployment, this bill will accelerate grid modernization, shield our independent agricultural communities from losing their property, and reduce regulatory gridlock that slows critical utility expansion.
 

This legislation will do several things:

• Imposes a strict statutory preference order for siting new electric transmission facilities. 

• Explicitly directs the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) and grid developers to avoid Agricultural Security Areas and lands under active agricultural conservation easements.  

• Streamlines the placement and maintenance of high-voltage transmission lines directly along state highways, federally aided routes, and interstate highways.

Pennsylvania leads the nation in permanently preserved farms. Yet, when utility grids expand through new routes, family farms are forced into costly eminent domain battles that strip away development rights and threaten multi-generational business operations. Co-locating utility infrastructure along existing highway infrastructure is a common-sense alternative that can speed the permitting process, keep project costs in-check, and lessen the burden on private landowners.
 

Please join us in cosponsoring this important piece of legislation.