Pepco Holdings' proposal to build a new electricity transmission line through Delaware is good news, but not for the reason many Delawareans wanted to hear.

Pepco, which is the parent company of Delmarva Power, wants to build a 230-mile, 500-kilowatt line to serve Delaware and surrounding areas. The region certainly needs the line, but the line is unlikely to lead to lower prices.

Transmission lines seem to be the forgotten part of the newly deregulated industry. The current system was not built for long-distance transmission. This region is part of the PJM Interconnection, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says the Delmarva Peninsula is a big transmission bottleneck. Newer lines will help prevent blackouts and even out supply to some extent. This line, in particular, will help relieve some of the region's congestion.

Besides, transmission lines don't appear overnight. Even if everything goes smoothly for the Pepco proposal, it wouldn't be finished until 2015.

Despite that, the Pepco proposal and proposals by two other companies to build new lines are welcome. The payoff for consumers will no doubt come, but it will be later rather than sooner.

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