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The utility contends it needs the line by that date to satisfy Northern Virginia’s future electricity needs and to avoid possible rolling blackouts.
PEC, Dominion’s chief adversary, welcomed the extension.
“It’s good news for everybody — for the (SCC) staff for all the organizations that are reviewing” the transmission line proposal, PEC Spokesman Bob Lazaro said. ~i’his is an important issue. It shouldn’t be rushed.”
PEC, which has sprat more than $1 million fighting the proposal, considers the line unnecessary.
The nonprofit organization and many others believe Dominion wants the line to profit from the transmission of cheaply produced electricity in the Ohio Valley to the Northeast.
Northern Virginia’s energy needs could be satisfied through other means, including new technology, upgrades to mrigting infrastructure and conservation, according to PEC.
Lazaro dismissed Dominion’s June 2011 deadline as “more doomsday from Jim (Norvelle). I’m not troubled that (the SCC hearing examiner) has give people more time to study* the proposal, he said.
Dominion “could obviate the need for this line” if it followed PEC’s advice about alternative measures, Lazaro said. “They could withdraw the proposal and save everybody a lot of time and money. I don’t think they’re going to do that.”
The utility acknowledges the importance of new technology infrastructure improvements and conservation to produce electricity more efficiently. Still, Dominion insists the proposed line must be built to meet its obligations to supply reliable service to its customers.
The proposed line would link a substation at Winchester and one near Areola in Loudoun County. It would parallel an existing power line corridor that also passes through Frederick, Warren, Rappahannock, Fauquier, Culpeper and Prince William counties.
In places, it would require Dominion to obtain more thaw 200 feet of right of way through farms, woodland and near homes.
An alternative route, using Virginia Department of Transportation right of way tracks Interstate 66 through Fauquier — and through the highest concentration of conservation easements in the country
At the least, a transmission line through the area would destroy scenic vistas, resulting in a massive loss of property values, opponents contend.
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