Stafford County officials are continuing to try to influence the path of a proposed power line if it’s ultimately approved by state regulators.
Dominion Energy’s North Anna to Bristers electric-transmission proposal has been unpopular since being unveiled last year, and the Stafford Planning Commission voted 6-0 on Wednesday night to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve adding guidelines to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, a blueprint for development.
Dominion’s project consists of a 70-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line to be built through Louisa, Spotsylvania, Caroline, Stafford and Fauquier counties. The line would connect the existing North Anna substation to the proposed Thornburg substation in Caroline and continue through Stafford into Fauquier.
It also will include installing a 230-kilovolt circuit on the same structures. The circuit would be constructed as part of the project but would not be energized initially, according to the utility company, allowing the line to support future energy demands while minimizing the need for construction later.
The Stafford supervisors and several county residents have expressed concern that the power line project could pose health risks if it’s built near homes and schools and cause property values to plummet, notions Dominion disputes.
Virginia’s State Corporation Commission has the final say on whether the transmission line is built. But state law says that if the Stafford supervisors approve the Comprehensive Plan changes, the SCC must consider them when making its decision, if requested, County Attorney Rysheda McClendon told the commission.
“And that’s what we would plan to do, if these amendments are approved,” she said.
One of the main things Stafford wants is to have the line buried, a step that Dominion claims is too expensive to take.
The energy company also has said part of the need for the power line is because of the proposed proliferation of data centers, and the Stafford Comprehensive Plan changes say the county supports “direct assignment of transmission costs — including the incremental costs or underground placement — to the class of customers responsible for the need of the new lines.”
In addition to specifically addressing the North Anna to Bristers project, the Comprehensive Plan changes would implement guidelines for how power lines should be constructed generally in Stafford.
Dominion doesn’t agree with the Comprehensive Plan amendments, contending that they “far exceed Stafford County’s authority and jurisdiction to address high-voltage transmission lines,” according to county documents prepared for Wednesday’s meeting.
But McClendon said that if the information is in the Comprehensive Plan, the SCC must consider it.
“It doesn’t mean they’ll act on it, it doesn’t mean they’ll change their mind, but they have to at least consider it,” she told commissioners.
The Comprehensive Plan is just one document the SCC would use in making its decision, McClendon said.
“They have a number of guidelines that they will apply,” she said.
The commission approved the Comprehensive Plan changes Wednesday with little discussion, mainly technical questions for McClendon. Commissioner Neil Hamblin, who was recently appointed to the body to represent the Garrisonville District, was absent from the meeting.
