Proposed MARL power line route has West Virginians pushing back to preserve their land

BRUCETON MILLS, W.Va. – A fierce gust of wind whips through the trees in Bruceton Mills on a chilly fall morning. Three energetic dogs run through the gravel and fading blades of grass despite the cold weather. The front door to a miniature cabin swings open and out steps James Prutilapac, the owner of more than 40 acres of relatively untouched Preston County natural beauty. 

The West Virginian observes his property on the frosty mountain morning of Nov. 5, 2025, and there are no power lines to be seen in the skies. Instead, the occasional bird or falling leaf. That view will change if the proposed route of NextEra’s MARL transmission lines comes to fruition, which may impact Prutilapac’s view, as well as land in four other counties. 

“No one I have talked to has been in favor of the project,” Prutilapac said. “There are different levels of antagonism toward [MARL], but I haven’t spoken to any locals who are in support of it.”

NextEra Energy Transmission proposed the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link (MARL) transmission line, a 500-kilovolt entity that would run more than 107 miles from Pennsylvania to Virginia. The primary purpose of the line, according to NextEra’s website, is to “strengthen the power grid, and help power what matters most - our homes, our businesses and our way of life.”

NextEra’s MARL transmission line project has not yet been approved by the state’s public service commission, as of Nov. 17, 2025. A decision on the final route is expected by Spring 2027, according to NextEra. 

Prutilapac is one of more than a thousand members of the Facebook group “WATI - West Virginians Against Transmission Line Injustice,” a grassroots organization fighting against the addition of transmission lines such as MARL. The organization is based in Fort Ashby, a town roughly an hour east of Bruceton Mills. 

The sentiment remains relatively the same among the group despite the miles and mountains between its members: The proposed lines would benefit surrounding states, but not the state most impacted by their presence. 

“It’s a project going from a power station in Pennsylvania to feed data centers in Northern Virginia,” Prutilapac said of the proposed MARL project. “It’s not as though it’s a project that they’re adding the lines because there are underserved communities 10 minutes down the road.”

WATI Secretary Sara Evans shared a similar sentiment. 

“Electricity is nice, but I don’t want [transmission lines] destroying the view and the memories just to give electricity through to someplace else,” Evans said. 

The addition of transmission lines is partly due to the rapidly growing need for more power in the age of artificial intelligence and increased data use.  

“We have a lot of demand growth in the region and across the country,” Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, said. “Power demand was flat for 25 years, and now, suddenly, it’s like 3% per year, which is a lot in terms of the gigawatts of power that we need to add.” 

Internet use among adults steadily increased between 2000 and 2024, rising from 52% to 96% during that period, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center. That statistic combined with the rise of AI shows how much power is needed to fuel the country’s demand.

Prutilapac is more focused on conserving the wildlife and nature on his land as well as the quiet life it provides him and less on the frenetic pace of power growth. 

“Environmentally, the [proposed transmission line] is going to be taking out a lot of trees, which I don’t want to see that happen,” Prutilapac said. “There’s a lot of wildlife up here. We regularly have black bear, red and grey fox, fisher, coyote, and then obviously deer, raccoon, opossum, things that are everywhere in West Virginia.”

The transmission company has land agents in contact with potentially impacted residents to sign easements as the process moves forward. These transmission routes are not set in stone and according to Rob Gramlich, they often deal with rerouted plans. 

“Reroutes are a normal part of a transmission line’s life and there are a lot of factors,” Gramlich, the president of Grid Strategies, said. “Looking at land issues and river and creek crossings, and how many people are going to actually see [lines] and what the communities actually think, so it is a normal part of the [routing] process.”

WVU engineering professor and energy expert Prof. Anurag Srivastava said routes that directly impact people are only approved when there is a great need. 

“If [the transmission route] is going through a part of the town, or especially if it will impact the people that are living there, well I guess in most cases, then it does not happen,”  Srivastava said. “Unless the benefit is a lot, then they have to compensate people to move from that land to other land, and so it will cost the transmission line builder more money.”

The proposed MARL plan, if successful, would require compensation to residents like Prutilapac due to the invasive nature of the route. Agents have already made offers, according to the Bruceton Mills landowner. 

“We’ve had a guy from NextEra that has contacted us, and he’s kind of been in regular contact; he’s obviously trying to get us to sign contracts and whatnot, but no one has contacted us from any state agency or anything,” Prutilapac said. 

Those opposed to the transmission line say the fight will continue despite potential monetary compensation. 

Hannah Heiskell contributed to this story.