The company already has filed information with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) from itself and outside experts confirming that increasing demand for electricity in the region could result in blackouts beginning in 2011 if the 65-mile line is not built.
Dominion reported that independent consultants hired by the SCC staff have verified that a need for a line exists. The consultants have also said Dominion’s proposed route, next to or in the same right-of-way as an existing transmission line, is suitable for the environment as well as for local cultural and historical sites.
The SCC hearing is expected to last at least two weeks. The hearing examiner will take all of the information from the several rounds of public hearings, the pre-filed testimony and the evidentiary hearings and then make a recommendation to the three SCC commissioners. The commissioners will then decide whether the line needs to be built as well as the route.
John Smatlak, Dominion’s vice president of transmission, said: The evidence is very convincing in support of the need to build this line without delay. Our customers depend on us to provide reliable energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are committed to meeting that obligation, and this transmission line is the only realistic solution.
