SCC hearing examiner recommends approval of new Dominion Energy transmission lines in Sandston

Dominion Energy last week cleared a significant hurdle in its attempt to construct two 230-kilovolt electric transmission lines along a 4.69-mile stretch through a portion of Sandston and to expand its adjacent White Oak Substation.

In a 60-page report issued Jan. 17, Virginia State Corporation Commission senior hearing examiner Michael D. Thomas recommended approval of the plans. Participants in the case have until today to submit comments about the report, and then a panel of SCC commissioners will issue a final order at an undetermined time. (Only one of the three commissioners’ spots currently is filled on a permanent basis; another is filled on an interim basis by a retired commissioner, but the Virginia General Assembly voted Jan. 24 to appoint two new full-time commissioners whose terms will begin March 17 and April 1.)

Thomas’s recommendation was the latest step in a seven-month process that began when Dominion filed its proposal with the SCC to build the lines, a timeframe during which three possible paths for them have been considered – and during which some environmentalists and property owners in the area have argued that the lines would be speculative rather than necessary.

But in his report, Thomas concluded that the company had proven, and that SCC officials had confirmed, that the two lines and substation expansion were necessary “to comply with mandatory reliability standards and to maintain reliable service to accommodate overall growth in the White Oak Load Area.” By the summer of 2030, Thomas concluded, the overall electric usage in the area would require the construction of three additional substations to serve the White Oak Load Area.

Thomas also found that the final proposed route for the lines (which would take them north from the White Oak Substation along Technology Boulevard through a portion of the White Oak Technology Park, across the site of a proposed 622-acre data center and office park along East Williamsburg Road at I-295, north across I-64 and then east along the railroad tracks, then across them to the existing line) was the most logical path of the three considered.

Dominion proved, he wrote, that it needs to build the lines in order to relieve “identified violations of North American Electric Reliability Corporation (‘NERC’) Reliability Standards brought on by increase in electrical demand over the past five years as well as expected demand growth projected for the future, and to maintain the structural integrity of the Company’s transmission system.”

Those violations began last summer, Thomas concluded. His findings implied that the issues would only become more frequent with the introduction of additional electrical needs in the region.

If approved by the SCC commissioners, Dominion intends to have the lines and expanded substation operational by April 30, 2026. The project is estimated to cost about $44.6 million. Thomas concluded that both estimates were reasonable.

Development of the proposed data center and office park has been a key issue during the consideration of Dominion’s proposal. Environmentalists and some nearby property owners argued that without that site’s development for high-intensity electrical use like a data center, the new transmission lines might not be needed, and that if the proposal alone would necessitate new lines, the developer (Richmond-based Hourigan) ought to pay for them.

During testimony before the SCC, Hourigan Senior Managing Director of Development Brian Jenkins said that his firm favored the final proposed path for the lines, which would take them directly across its property. That was the most expensive of the three possible routes, but the other two routes would have required construction of additional spur lines to reach the Hourigan site, at additional unknown costs. A study by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality favored the second proposed path, which would have run along the southeastern part of the region 4.19 miles in length, crossing over White Oak Road.

The final proposed path, though, would disrupt the fewest residences (16), compared with 30 and 24 for the first and second options, respectively. It would cross through 22 separate parcels of land, requiring nearly 58 acres of right of way acquisition from private property owners. Most of that acreage (about 43 acres) is forest land, according to an SCC report, and would need to be cleared to make way for the lines.

The hearing process included testimony from five Dominion officials and one Dominion consultant; a representative from the development company that intends to build an industrial park that would be served by the new lines; a representative from QTS, which operates a massive data center at nearby White Oak Technology Park; and an SCC associate utilities engineer. In making his recommendation, Thomas considered written comments from 10 people, all of whom opposed the plans.

The SCC has been operating with just two commissioners for about two years, spokesman Andy Farmer told the Citizen. It is unclear what would happen in the event of a 1-1 split vote; asked about it, Farmer said that "the State Corporation Commission will not speculate or comment on the potential outcome of a pending case" and said that no information about such a potential scenario was evident in either the state's constitution or state code.