Dominion Applies for Electric Transmission Line
in Loudoun County, Virginia, the Fastest Growing U.S. County
RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion Virginia Power,
a subsidiary of Dominion, filed an application Thursday with the Virginia State
Corporation Commission to build a 15.7-mile power line to serve customers in
Loudoun County, the fastest growing county in the United States.
The 230,000-volt transmission line is needed
to ensure electric service reliability in the high-growth Northern Virginia
county, which projects its population to increase from about 169,600 in 2000
to about 300,400 in 2010, or 77 percent. The line is needed by the summer of
2008 to alleviate potential electrical overloading on existing circuits in western
Loudoun County that could cause equipment failure and extended outages.
The power line, which is estimated to cost about
$30 million, would transmit electricity between the existing Pleasant View substation
east of Leesburg to a proposed substation near the town of Hamilton west of
Leesburg.
Dominion has met frequently with Loudoun County
officials, a group of county and town civic leaders that was formed to assist
the company, neighborhood associations and individual citizens to discuss this
project. About 275 citizens attended a company-sponsored, two-night workshop
last October to review maps and proposed route segments.
As a result of these meetings, Dominion announced
it would not pursue the use of the full length of its existing right-of-way
along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail through Leesburg for the power
line. Many residents and users of the trail spoke about keeping the trail, which
is part of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, as free of new lines
as possible.
"This project has been a real challenge.
Our proposed expansion is critical to maintaining reliable electric service
to this dynamic region where electrical load growth has increased 11 percent
in the past six years," said Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer of
Dominion Energy. "We listened to people’s concerns and we believe
we are addressing the energy needs of the region with the best possible route
and alternate routes for these communities."
The proposed
route proceeds south from the Pleasant View substation east of Leesburg
and parallels the existing transmission line for approximately 1.7 miles. It
then turns west and proceeds approximately 4.4 miles to U.S. Route 15, crossing
Route 643 (Sycolin Road), Route 267 (Dulles Greenway), Route 621 (Evergreen
Mills Road), and Route 650 (Gleedsville Road). After crossing U.S. Route 15,
the route proceeds north and west for approximately 7.3 miles to Virginia Route
7 Bypass, crossing Route 797 (Mt. Gilead Road), Route 704 (Harmony Church Road),
Foxfield Lane, Route 769 (Woodburn Road), Route 820 (Canby Road), Route 707
(Digges Valley Road), and Virginia Route 7 Business (Colonial Highway). The
route then turns west and parallels the north side of Virginia Route 7 Bypass
for approximately 2.3 miles to the Hamilton Substation site.
Three of the alternate routes are similar to
the proposed route. They vary primarily in how far south and west of Leesburg
they cross the county. The remaining two alternatives run either along a two-mile
section of the W&OD Trail or along an existing transmission corridor north
of the trail before joining Virginia Route 7 Bypass just around the south of
Leesburg. The cost to build any of the routes ranges from $26 million to $30
million.
The application and related information can be
viewed by visiting Dominion’s Web site at: http://www.dom.com/about/elec-transmission/powerline/westloudoun/index.jsp.
The application is also available at Dominion’s offices in Richmond (Riverside
Building, 5th floor, 120 Tredegar Street) and Leesburg (620 Sycolin Road SE),
the Loudoun County Government Center (County Administration, 1 Harrison Street
SE, Leesburg, Va., attention Office of County Attorney) and the Town of Leesburg
(25 West Market Street, Leesburg, VA, attention Zoning Counter).
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers
of energy, with an energy portfolio of about 28,100 megawatts of generation,
about 6 trillion cubic feet equivalent of proved natural gas reserves and 7,900
miles of natural gas transmission pipeline. Dominion also operates the nation's
largest underground natural gas storage system with more than 965 billion cubic
feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in nine states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
