Dominion presents ValleyLink 'backbone' plan; says SCC filing this fall and refined routes limit Goochland footprint

Dominion Energy representatives presented the ValleyLink Joshua Falls–Yeats transmission proposal and defended the need for a new 765 kilovolt, roughly 115‑mile "backbone" line to relieve overloads on existing 500 kV lines and meet projected 2029 demand.

Rob Richardson, speaking for Dominion and ValleyLink, said the joint venture — which Dominion described as three member companies working together — has published refined route maps (live on GeoVoice as of the day before the meeting) and will file a State Corporation Commission (SCC) application this fall. He told the board that the region has seen unusually rapid load growth driven in part by data‑center expansion and that planners must prepare a more robust, interregional transmission system.

Dr. Raley, a member of the Board, opened the meeting and outlined the Q&A and public‑comment process; Dominion then walked through the project’s technical profile: 765 kV lattice towers approximately 135–160 feet tall; a typical right‑of‑way roughly 200 feet wide; and a goal to reduce direct impacts to fewer than 75 homes within 500 feet along the full corridor. Dominion said it reviewed roughly 15,000 miles of routing alternatives and more than 2,000 public comments in producing route refinements.

In response to supervisor questions, Dominion described the line as a backbone intended to relieve congestion on existing 500 kV corridors and to allow future interconnections rather than as a short, standalone local project. The company said there are currently no new substations planned along most of the route but that the Cumberland power station and other planned facilities may tie into the corridor. Lane Carr, Dominion’s siting and permitting lead, explained that the March routes were abandoned and the current maps represent post‑public‑input refinements; he said the remaining corridor through Goochland is about 1.25 miles in total.

Board members pressed Dominion on construction staging, potential road damage, and whether properties in Goochland might be used as laydown yards. Dominion replied that construction cannot begin until SCC and environmental permits are obtained, that laydown yards would need permitting, and that easement acquisition and subsequent permitting would precede any construction staging decisions.

On health concerns, Dominion noted that SCC review requires electric and magnetic field (EMF) modeling as part of the application and said the engineering record submitted to SCC will include relevant studies; Dominion also said the commission’s review to date has not established causality between EMF and disease but that the topic is taken seriously and modeled in the application.

Asked about costs and rate impacts, Dominion officials described allocation formulas that split regional benefits and noted protections already implemented — including a separate rate class for high‑load customers (typically data centers) and demand minimums intended to reduce stranded‑cost risk. Dominion gave a preliminary cost estimate of about $1,000,000,000 for the project and said final allocation and any FERC recovery mechanisms will depend on pending FERC and PJM decisions and on SCC proceedings.

Dominion reiterated the engagement timeline (virtual and in‑person open houses June 10 and June 15–25 in nine counties, including a June 16 session at the Goochland Sports Complex), said a preferred route will be presented virtually before SCC filing, and projected an SCC decision in the fall of 2027. The company invited attendees to follow up with specific technical questions, which the board requested in writing for later responses.

The meeting did not include any new formal board votes on the project; board members referenced earlier actions — including a prior resolution opposing the project and an appropriation for advocacy — and said continued local engagement would follow.