Dominion pushes for bigger power line

Dominion Virginia Power plans to replace an existing transmission line that runs from Loudoun to Middle-burg, and through part of Prince William County, with a new, higher-voltage line.

The power company will hold a public information meeting about its plans July 7.

Dominion plans to remove the existing 56-year-old 115-kilovolt line and replace it with a new 230-kilovolt line, according to information Dominion sent to area residents.

The proposed new transmission line will run a total of 9.6 miles, from the Middleburg substation in Fau-quier County to the Loudoun Substation in Loudoun County.

A 1.4-mile section of the line will go through the Evergreen area in northwestern Prince William County.

According to information provided by Dominion, the new transmission line is needed to upgrade the aging existing line, and to help prevent equipment failure and extended power outages.

The new line would be built where the existing line is now and would not require an expansion of the existing right-of-way, Dominion officials said.

Dominion and the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, which also uses the existing transmission line, currently serve about 16,000 customers with the Loudoun-Middleburg line.

When the new line is built, Dominion plans to continue to operate part of the line at 115 kilovolts for NOVEC customers, Dominion officials said.

Dominion officials plan to submit their application for this proposed project to the Virginia State Corpora-tion Commission later this year, according to the letter sent to area residents.

The information open house will be from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Dulles South Multipurpose Center, 24950 Rid-ing Center Drive, South Riding.

For more information about the meeting or about the project, e-mail or call 1-888-291-0190 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.