Dominion to host Sept. 15 community meeting about planned White Oak electric transmission line

Dominion Energy officials will host a community meeting in Eastern Henrico Sept. 15 to provide information and receive input from community members about a new electric transmission line planned in the White Oak Technology Park area. The meeting will be held at Elko Middle School, 5901 Elko Road in Sandston, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The line is necessary because of growing energy demands at the technology park, which is home to QTS and Facebook data centers, among other tenants. The new infrastructure will help meet new power needs, maintain federal reliability rules, and keep the grid operating efficiently, according to Dominion officials.

Plans call for a new double-circuit 230 kilovolt electric transmission line to be built to connect Dominion’s existing White Oak substation to an existing transmission line about three miles to the east. The company is planning the project and reviewing a variety of electrical and construction options and is considered three study areas along which the new line could run.

Ultimately, Dominion officials will propose a route with alternatives and submit those plans to the Virginia State Corporation Commission for final evaluation and approval. Company officials consider a number of factors when deciding where to build a new line, including land use, historic and cultural resources, environmental impacts, wetlands, environmental justice, and tribal property.

The SCC will review the proposal and choose a route on which the company must build.

The Sept. 15 meeting is a chance tor citizens to learn more, ask questions and provide input.

To learn more about the project, visit http://DominionEnergy.com/whiteoak, email powerline@dominionenergy.com or call (888) 291- 0190.