n LOUDOUN
4 | n EDUCATION
10 | n PUBLIC SAFETY
16 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
Community-Supported News. Free to all.
VOL. 9, NO. 44
28
SEPTEMBER 12, 2024
Residents Urge SCC to Require Underground Transmission Lines BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The 435-seat auditorium at Belmont Ridge Middle School on Sept. 5 was overflowing as Loudoun’s elected leaders and residents gathered to speak to the State Corporation Commission about a transmission line project planned by Dominion Energy. The 9.4-mile Aspen to Golden line is planned to have a double circuit of 230 and 500 kilovolt lines on monopole towers. It is planned to run from the Aspen substation south of Rt. 7 and west of Belmont Ridge Road to the Golden substation at the intersection of Rt. 28 and the W&OD Trail near the heart of Data Center Alley. Nearly all the 41 speakers during Thursday's hearing supported a proposal by Lansdowne Conservancy and the county government for the SCC to require Dominion to bury three miles of the line along Rt. 7 and shift the cost difference to high wattage users, most of which would be data centers. Ashburn District Supervisor Michael Turner (D) told the commissioners that they had a chance to “set a new paradigm” by requiring the UNDERGROUND LINES continues on page 40
Hanna Pampaloni/Loudoun Now
Toll rates won’t be increasing on the Dulles Greenway this year following action by the State Corporation Commission.
SCC Denies Greenway Toll Increase BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.org
The State Corporation Commission has denied a request by Toll Road Investors Partnership II to increase tolls on the Dulles Greenway. The company applied to raise tolls on two-axle vehicles on the highway to $8.10
during rush hour and $6.40 in off-peak hours. Currently, the toll is $5.80 in peak hours and $5.25 in off-peak hours. According to the final order released Sept. 4, the commission stated it agreed with findings by the hearing examiner released in May that concluded the increase would “materially discourage use of the Greenway.”
“The Commission has afforded more weight to, and been persuaded by, the evidence and related arguments supporting findings that the Company failed to establish that the Proposed Tolls will be reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit obtained,” according to the order. SCC DENIAL continues on page 41
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