Dominion Vice President Says SCC Staff Supplement
Report on Northern Virginia Transmission Line Supports Company's Position
RICHMOND, Va. – An updated report from a Virginia State Corporation Commission staff consultant that says a need "persists" for a new transmission line in Northern Virginia supports Dominion Virginia Power's application, John D. Smatlak, vice president-Transmission, said today.
In a supplemental report filed Monday, consultant Bates White
LLC of Washington, D.C., said:
"Both the original and the updated Bates White contingency
analyses indicated major reliability violations in 2011 and 2012 … in the
absence of major transmission system expansion such as the projected 500kV
Loudoun Line." (Page 1, Paragraph 2)
"In other words, the need for the proposed Loudoun Line
persists even when the most 'up-to-date' power flow case is used as the basis
for the reliability study." (Page 1, Paragraph 2)
"This independent report confirms our position - that our proposed transmission line is the best answer to prevent problems to the Northern Virginia regional electric system in the summer of 2011," Smatlak said. "The consultant took the new information, performed detailed load flow analyses and confirmed this project is needed to keep the lights on in our customers' homes and businesses."
The SCC staff hired Bates White to perform an assessment of the need for the power line. In its original report filed Jan. 8, the consultant said a critical need exists for electric reliability improvements by 2011 in Northern Virginia. Bates White updated the report Monday with the latest information about proposed generation and transmission lines in PJM Interconnection, the independent regional transmission operator.
Dominion is seeking approval from the SCC to build a 65-mile,
500,000-volt transmission
line in Northern Virginia to alleviate projected overloads of the grid.
Electric demand in Northern Virginia has grown by about 40 percent over the
last decade and is projected to grow by another 8 percent by 2011.
The SCC Staff consultant's updated report is attached
here for your convenience. It is also posted on the SCC
Web site. The docket number is PUE-2007-00031.
About Dominion
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters
of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation,
7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and 1 trillion cubic feet equivalent
(Tcfe) of proved natural gas and oil reserves. Dominion also owns and operates
the nation's largest underground natural gas storage system with about 960 billion
cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com/.
