Hearing delay brings hope to Haymarket power line opponents

HAYMARKET — A hearing to question the need for an overhead power line in Haymarket is delayed

The State Corporation Commission now says the hearing will take place on April 30, at 10 a.m. in the commission’s courtroom on the second floor of the Tyler Building, 1300 East Main Street in Richmond.

A meeting was originally scheduled on February 8 at the commission to hear the need for the powerline, which would run overhead from the intersection of Prince William Parkway (Route 234 bypass) and Interstate 66 west through Gainesville to Haymarket where a new data center is located just off John Marshall Highway.

The effort to build the 230kV double circuit transmission line has dragged on for more than three years as Dominion Energy, state, and local Prince William County officials have gone back forth on the exact route of the proposed power line. Some of the recommended courses have it running along I-66 to a new substation just outside Haymarket, while others show the line connecting  at the substation via routes along a railroad line that runs through Haymarket and next to the Somerset Crossing subdivision, and another in along Carver Road, home to some of Virginia’s first freed slaves.

A bill introduced this year by Delegate Tim Hugo to require Dominion to bury line is the impetus for the delay in the public hearing. The utility filed a motion requesting the hearing date to be moved until after Virginia’s General Assembly session ends March 10.

“We asked for an extension so that the procedural schedule accommodates the General Assembly’s consideration of Del. Hugo’s bill to create an electric transmission underground pilot program, which could have a direct bearing on the case,” stated Dominion spokesman Chuck Penn in an email.

The proposed power line received the go-ahead from the SCC last year, with a caveat requiring Dominion work with Prince William County officials over the course of 60 days last fall and agree upon a route. The parties were unable to reach an agreement as the utility is pushing for the construction of an overhead power line while county leaders favor a hybrid version that has a portion of the wire buried underground.

Opponents of the power line said it’s unprecedented for the SCC to not only reconvene to hear testimony on a project it’s already approved, but to also have the purpose of the meeting set to question the need for the project altogether.

“The Coalition and allies have been present to advocate for community interests, challenge the need, and oppose an overhead line. In Richmond, local elected officials including Delegate Tim Hugo, Delegate Danica Roem, and Senator Chap Petersen have pushed legislation addressing numerous challenges, including the overhead line… This is a welcome message,” said Elena Schlossberg, who represents the Coalition to Protect Prince William County, a group formed to oppose the power line.

Hugo’s legislation House Bill 1202 would set up a pilot program to allow the construction of hybrid lines across the state. As a provision, the State Corporation Commission is required to place the Haymarket power line project eligible to be built partially underground, and require the path of the new to follow the outlined hybrid route along I-66.

County economic development officials have long been mum on which company is operating the data center, where the power line would terminate at a new substation. Elected officials, like Virginia State Senator Richard ‘Dick” Black (R-Loudoun, Prince William) have long said the center is owned by Amazon, Inc.

Dominion Enegery officials have never revealed the name of their customer at the data center. The utility maintains the new line will help to meet the energy demand in the growing region for the foreseeable future.