PATRIOT FOOTBALL: Pioneers to contend despite graduation losses. SPORTS, PAGE 8
July 20, 2023 | Vol. 22, No. 29 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Dominion scrambles to meet soaring power demand Data centers are driving growth, utility says By Peter Cary
Piedmont Journalism Foundation
In June 2022, Loudoun County staffers met with Dominion Energy officials to hear their plans to increase power reliability for data centers. Dominion said it was “contemplating system upgrades,” according to a county report. But three weeks later, with no warning to the county, Dominion started telling data centers new power delivery would be severely limited until January 2026 as it temporarily paused hookups for new data centers. The news stunned Buddy Rizer, Loudoun’s economic development director, who has overseen more than a decade’s worth of data center development in Northern Virginia. Even last week, a year later, Rizer said he was still shocked. “I remain stunned at the way that rolled out,” he said. The news also sent shock waves through the
Prince William County races draw a crowd
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/JILL PALERMO
A Cloud HQ data center sign stands in front of the new, $40 million “Wakeman substation” near the Manassas Regional Airport. The data center advertises 135 megawatts of power – enough to power 33,750 homes.
data center community nationwide and it was the talk of an industry conference last month in Tysons Corner. The idea that Dominion Energy, which is obligated by law to bring power to any business that requests it, could not deliver? At the time, Rizer was hoping for 10 million more square feet of data centers. Suddenly, power was limited. Dominion said that was temporary. Two Dominion executives, Alan Bradshaw, vice president for strategic partnerships, and Matt Gardner, vice president for transmission planning, said in a lengthy interview last week their company is working hard to fix the power crunch by 2025. They insisted Dominion currently has plenty of generation capacity and that the problem lies with transmission congestion. In the meantime, they said, they are also working with new data centers to supply them with less power upfront in exchange for more power later. Still, the situation raises serious questions. When Dominion completes its upgrades, will it have to play catch up again? What will happen See POWER, page 4
COUNTYWIDE RACES Board of County Supervisors Chair
School Board Chair
44 candidates vie for 23 seats on the November ballot By Cher Muzyk
Times Staff Writer
The June 20 primary set the stage for a Nov. 7 general election featuring a diverse slate of local candidates who reflect Prince William’s status as the largest majority-minority county in Virginia. Of the 44 candidates running for local office, half are people of color and more than half – 24 – are women. There’s also no shortage of volunteers for local elected offices. Only three incumbents are unopposed, and several races have more than two candidates. The strong interest in local elected office is likely driven in part by the Republicans’ push for activism at the local level, especially for local school board races, said Mark J. Rozell, Dean of the Schar School of Public Policy at George Mason University. “In an increasingly tribal America, divisive culture war issues that are playing out on the national and state level are also playing out at lo-
Deshundra Jefferson
Jeanine Lawson
Sheriff
Babur Lateef*
Commonwealth’s Attorney
Carrie Rist
Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco
Clerk of Court
Glendell Josh Amy Matt Jackie Hill* King Ashworth* Lowery Smith* Republican nominee or endorsed candidates Democratic nominee or endorsed candidates * Incumbents ** Soil and Water Conservation Board candidates not included. cal levels,” Rozell said.
Countywide races
Clerk of the Court: Incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Jacqueline C. Smith, a Democrat, is vying for a second full term against newcomer Hina Ansari, an independent. Smith, 40, is an attorney who lives in Montclair and has led the county’s courthouse
County firefighters want shorter workweeks, page 3
since winning a 2017 special election. Ansari, 43, of Woodbridge, has worked for the Prince William County Clerk of the Court’s office for six years, including two under Smith. Commonwealth’s Attorney: Incumbent Amy Ashworth, a Democrat, is vying for her second term against Republican Matt Lowery. Ashworth,
Island on the Rocks party returns to Occoquan Bay, page 6
Hina Ansari Independents
52, of Nokesville, was the first woman elected to the county’s top prosecutor’s post. Prior to taking office, Ashworth worked as a Prince William County prosecutor in the special victims’ unit and as a criminal defense attorney in Manassas. See CANDIDATES, page 2
88 DULLES, VA