New Jersey Regulators Delay Decision On PSEG High-Voltage Line

New Jersey regulators said Monday they will delay a decision on a $750 million high-voltage power line Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) is planning in a northern part of the state.

A spokesman for the Board of Public Utilities said regulators won't make a decision on the 45-mile transmission line by mid-January as originally planned. The commission's delay was prompted by the pullback in another major transmission project in the eastern U.S. New Jersey regulators haven't set a new timetable for when they plan to decide on the PSEG project, according to the spokesman.

In recent weeks, Allegheny Energy Inc. (AYE) and American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP) said they plan to delay a $1.8 billion transmission line from West Virginia to Maryland because of a less robust outlook for power demand. The utilities had believed the 275-mile line would be needed by 2012 or 2013, but it now looks like 2016 is a more likely date.

Pepco Holdings Inc. (POM) followed by asking Maryland regulators on Friday to suspend a review of a 150-mile, $1.2 billion transmission line from Virginia through Maryland into Delaware. The company will await a study of regional transmission needs from the PJM Interconnection, which operates the power grid from North Carolina to New Jersey and in parts of the Midwest.

The project planned by PSEG is known as the Susquehanna-Roseland line, which would run from Pennsylvania into New Jersey. PPL Corp. (PPL) is planning the Pennsylvania portion of the line, which is estimated to cost $510 million.

A representative of PSEG couldn't be reached immediately for comment. A spokesman for PPL said guidance from PJM hasn't changed with the grid operator continuing to see a need for the line. PPL expects a vote from Pennsylvania regulators next month.

PSEG shares recently traded 7 cents lower at $32.81 apiece, while PPL traded 1.1% higher to $32.05.

-By Mark Peters, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2457; mark.peters@dowjones.com

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