West Virginia cannot afford to keep saying no. No to opportunity, no to growth, and no to the infrastructure that keeps an energy state competitive.

Sure, no one is in love with new transmission lines. They are large. They are visible. They change the landscape. 

That part of the debate is honest.

What is not honest is pretending they are unnecessary, provide no benefit, or represent some dark conspiracy against West Virginians.

That argument asks us to believe that nearly everyone responsible for planning the nation’s electric grid is wrong and has completely misread the future. It asks us to believe that standing still – while West Virginia lags almost every other state – is somehow wise, that it’s a strategy.

It is not. Unless your goal is seeing our kids and grandkids leave West Virginia to pursue jobs and a quality of life in states that have said “yes” to growth and competition.

West Virginia is an energy-producing and energy-exporting state. That has always been one of our advantages. Transmission is how energy moves to market. It moves our economy ahead. 

Blocking transmission does not protect West Virginia. It limits our leverage and shrinks our options.

The claim that West Virginia receives no benefit from transmission is false. Energy infrastructure brings jobs during construction, permanent tax revenue, right-of-way payments, and long-term economic relevance. 

More importantly, improved transmission creates options. Optionality is what attracts industry. Companies build where power is abundant, reliable, and expandable. States without that capacity are eliminated early. They don’t even get a call. 

There is a reason U.S. News & World Report ranks West Virginia near the bottom in economic performance and dead last in infrastructure that supports economic development. That ranking did not happen because we built too much. It happened because for decades we built too little.

Refusing generation. Refusing transmission. Refusing new industry.

Refusing is not protection. It is surrender, and the West Virginians I know do not surrender.

States that say yes win. States that say no watch opportunities pass them by.

It’s time for West Virginia to stop surrendering and start winning again.