Saying federal agencies are overstepping their bounds in the siting of electric transmission lines -- including those planned for Washington and Greene counties -- U.S. Sen. Bob Casey yesterday urged his colleagues to revise parts of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Mr. Casey, D-Pa., was the first to testify during a full hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, called to investigate the implementation of the 2005 energy policy and the state of the nation's electric transmission grid.

Representatives from the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, environmental groups and the electric utility lobby also appeared before the committee, which heard testimony focusing mainly on reliability, siting and infrastructure investment.

One of 14 bipartisan senators who requested the hearing several months ago, Mr. Casey told the committee that federal agencies, including FERC and the Energy Department, have gone against the spirit of the Energy Policy Act by designating large swaths of the Northeast and Southwest as national interest electric corridors.

Environmental groups agreed.

"The words 'national interest' preface 'electric transmission corridor' in NIETC, but the use is specious," said Andy Loza, executive director of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association. "Rather, it is a special interest electric transmission corridor -- the result of special interests seeking to reshape the electricity regulatory structure to enrich their bottom lines."

The mid-Atlantic designation in the Northeast, which encompasses eight states, the District of Columbia and 50 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, means the federal government will have the right to overrule state decisions involving the location of electric transmission lines and to seize private property through eminent domain for such projects.

A local fight is under way over a plan by Allegheny Power to build a 240-mile, 500-kilovolt power line from Washington and Greene counties in Pennsylvania to existing substations in West Virginia and ending in northern Virginia.

Allegheny Power's 210-mile portion of the line would cost $820 million to build, with the total project estimated at more than $1 billion. The smaller portion of the line would be constructed and paid for by Dominion Virginia Power, which serves customers in Virginia.

The plan, which is opposed by thousands of residents who formed grass-roots organizations, is under consideration by the state Public Utility Commission.

Mr. Casey expressed concern that the size of the transmission corridor is so excessive that it violates the intent of the law.

The law, he said, was designed to provide for specific corridors to target key areas of electric congestion that have been neglected by states.

Many residents believe that the power line in southwestern Pennsylvania will eventually transport electricity from local coal-fired plants to the energy-starved mid-Atlantic, though Greensburg-based Allegheny Power says the lines will be for local use.

"I am concerned that the scope of the implementation and the potential overuse of the new federal power line siting authority go beyond the narrow backstop authority that the committee intended when it crafted the provision," Mr. Casey said.

The senator said he also was disappointed when the Energy Department elected to leave the corridors virtually unchanged despite comments during the preliminary stages from more than 2,000 citizens, groups and officials, including Gov. Ed Rendell.

Mr. Casey said after the hearing that the department failed to consider alternative energy sources and demand-side management, which might negate the need for large power lines.

"The mind-set is to keep your head down and get these power lines up and get this over with," he said of federal agencies.

Mr. Casey said he was disturbed that the Energy Department didn't seek more public comment about the corridor designations, holding one hearing in the Pittsburgh area last year.

"The federal government can be very arrogant when it comes to policies that affect real people," Mr. Casey said. "Now they've got a fight on their hands. They'll certainly get a fight from me."

No action is expected soon, as the Senate begins its summer break tomorrow.