A grassroots citizens group instrumental in curbing the scope of a high-voltage power line project in Washington and Greene counties has filed an appeal asking that the entire project be scuttled.

The Energy Conservation Council of Pennsylvania yesterday appealed to the state Commonwealth Court to overturn a decision last month by the state Public Utility Commission approving a 1.2-mile segment and power station for a 500-kilovolt power line that would extend from Greene County through West Virginia and into Virginia.

Pennsylvania was the last state to approve the $1 billion, 240-mile project, sponsored by Allegheny Energy. It would involve the construction of a new power station and a 1.2-mile line in Dunkard, Greene County.

In its appeal, the ECC highlighted decisions by the state Office of Consumer Advocate, the PUC Office of Trial Staff and two administrative law judges with the PUC who argued that the line was not needed and shouldn't be built.

The judges called the project a profit-driven attempt to ship "cheaper coal-fired generation" along an "energy superhighway" to the east.

The five-member PUC board voted 4-1 for the project, with a dissension by Commissioner Tyrone Christy, the only board member who attended local hearings involving the project.

Allegheny Energy dropped a companion proposal calling for another new power station and 36-mile line through Washington and Greene counties, and returned easements to property owners along that route.

The utility company was granted a stay on that part of the project until an alternative proposal could be worked out with local officials. Meetings between the company and local stakeholders began last month.

The ECC also argued in its brief that the company did not meet the burden of proof in its application to construct the line and contends that four of the five PUC commissioners unfairly ignored evidence that the line is not needed.

"It is absolutely incredible to us that four of the five PUC commissioners chose to approve this portion of the line, saying that they are only approving 11???2 miles of a 40-mile line," said Laurie Nicholl, president of the board of directors of the ECC in a media release yesterday. "All through this process we have been firm in our conviction that this line is not wanted or needed in Pennsylvania. We intend to continue to fight for what we believe to be in the best interest of all of the citizens of Pennsylvania."