CHARLES TOWN - Allegheny Energy and local lawmakers are split over whether a new electrical line is the right way to address the country's increased need for power.

The company has plans to build a new 765-kilovolt line called the Potomac Appalachian Transmission Highline. The project is expected to span through parts of West Virginia, including Jefferson County, on its way to Maryland.

Officials with Allegheny say the line is needed to help upgrade the nation's existing power grid. Without it, they say blackouts and brownouts could occur in the not-so-distant future.

Some, however, say the company could meet customers' demands for power without constructing the line.

"They can get the capacity that they need without taking more farms or people's homes," said Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley.

Unger said he has been working with the U.S. Department of Energy for nearly five years to develop new smart grid technology. The initiative uses digital technologies to transmit electricity to consumers, while also working to save energy. He said all of that can be done by upgrading infrastructure that is already in place instead of building new lines.

"They don't need the additional footprint," he said. "That's the frustration that I have. ... To me (PATH) just doesn't make sense."

Allen Staggers, a spokesperson for Allegheny Energy, said PATH is needed to help support the electric transmission system.

"The transmission system has to be upgraded, not only for reliability, but also for transmitting new kinds of power," he said.

Regardless of what type of power it is, Staggers said the electricity has to be transported. Whether it be electricity from coal-fired power plants or from wind farms like those being constructed in the Allegheny Mountains, Staggers said lines are needed to get the electricity from point A to point B.

"Without the electric transmission system, power generated at wind farms just can't get to customers," he said.

As far as homes and property along the proposed route, Staggers said the company plans to compensate all people who own land in any area where Allegheny needs to obtain a right of way. He said property owners will continue to retain ownership of that portion of their land, although Allegheny will have the right to build a power line there.

"They keep the property, and we just construct the transmission line," he said.

If the project earns approval from the West Virginia Public Service Commission, Staggers said Allegheny will be able to use eminent domain for land acquisitions. Even if this happens, he said, no residents in Jefferson County stands to lose their homes.

"There are no homes that will have to be removed because of the PATH project. We were able to route the line without going actually across where anyone's home is right now. Obviously, we will be close to homes, just as we are in other areas," Staggers said.

However, some property owners are being contacted to see if they would like to sell their homes, he said. These homes are located in existing developments and in locations where the line's design could be improved if the homes were moved, Staggers said.

The company is giving these individuals the choice of selling their homes so the line's design can be altered, he said, adding that it is an "option, and it is only an option."

PATH is expected to run alongside existing power lines in the area, he said. In certain instances, some of these existing lines also are being rebuilt so that they can be placed on the same tower as the new project, he said.

In all, Staggers said the lines will be between 100 and 140 feet high. This will be just slightly taller than the 500-kilovolt lines already in place in the area.

Unger said he would like to see a move away from any additional power line, noting that President Obama's administration plans to put a great deal of stimulus money toward the smart grid effort. If a move toward smart grid technologies is made, Unger said it could give the company a chance to stand out from among the pack and become a national leader on this forefront.

"We seriously need to upgrade our infrastructure, be it roads or electricity, and just continuing building more and more of the same without looking at the technology and all of the upgrades that are available creates an antiquated system," he said.