COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Several fights are brewing across South Carolina between power companies who want to string high-voltage lines and environmentalists who don't want to lose pristine views.
The fiercest fight may be along the coast, where Central Electric Cooperative wants to run 16 miles of wire along U.S. 17 from Georgetown to McClellanville.
The wires would run along the Santee River delta, and opponents say it will ruin the view of miles of tidelands drivers now enjoy and could threaten birds who flock to the area.
"That view is unmatched," landowner Frank Beattie said. "To superimpose gigantic lines across there will destroy it."
But cooperative vice president for engineering Jerry Howard said the company looked for the route that affects the fewest people and has the least environmental impact.
"Nobody wants a transmission line, but everybody wants electricity," Howard said.
Other places where potential power lines are causing controversy include lines across the North Edisto River near Pelion, through historic property outside Florence and on farmland near Newberry.
The South Carolina Public Service Commission hasn't heard about many disputes over power line proposals before, director Gary Walsh said.
But that could be changing. A recent study for the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, said South Carolina's 12,000 miles of high-voltage transmission gives it some of the lowest capacity in the country .
For now, the state is producing enough power, but might not have enough big lines to carry the load in the future, said Maria Scheller, an author of the report for ICF Consulting.
If old lines reach capacity because of new electrical demands, blackouts could occur. The ICF study noted 14 areas where high-voltage lines were at 80 percent capacity or better. Those include the Rock Hill, Anderson and Newberry areas.
The heavy lines often run on towers up to 100 feet tall and can run through clearings up to 100 feet wide.
Critics want utilities to consider burying the lines. But utility officials say that can increase the average $300,000 per mile cost of an overhead line three to eight times.
Have a thought? Go to the 
