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Myth: If we all would simply do our part to conserve energy we could avoid the need for this line.
Fact: Energy conservation is certainly part of the long term solution to Northern Virginia’s growing demand for electric power, but it will not avoid the need for this line. Even the most aggressive, realistic conservation efforts cannot keep pace with the demand for power. For example, in order to avoid building a new transmission line, experts say that every individual, family, business and school in Northern Virginia would have to reduce their use of electricity by 40% on days when they now demand the greatest amount of electricity, and this assumes no growth in demand.
Myth: Dominion Virginia Power is not interested in promoting energy conservation because that would hurt its profits.
Fact: Dominion Virginia Power announced a series of conservation pilot projects in October 2007 in order to assess what programs customers would embrace and which will help reach Virginia’s conservation goals. For example, through a partnership with Honeywell and The Home Depot stores, Dominion is offering instant discounts on compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) purchased at The Home Depot stores in Dominion’s service area. So far, sales have far exceeded goals and Dominion is expanding the program.
Myth: The proposed transmission line is going to be used to sell power to New Jersey and the northeast.
Fact: Virginia is a net importer of electricity. In fact, we are the second largest importer behind only California. Demand in Northern Virginia far exceeds local and even statewide supply. This line is needed to transport power from remote locations like a power station and wind farm in West Virginia to where it is needed in Northern Virginia. Much like the interstate highways in the region, most of the “traffic” on our transmission lines is local. Dominion does not, however, charge a toll for power that is carried through Virginia on its way to another state.
Myth: The proposed line would go through some of the most historic properties in the northern Piedmont, including Chief Justice Marshall’s house.
Fact: The proposed route follows within or adjacent to an existing transmission line right-of-way. The route would not claim any historical structures or any new land within state open space easements. In fact, by law, the route must reasonably minimize its impact on cultural, historical and environmental areas.
Myth: This new line should be buried underground like they’re doing in Europe.
Fact: While some types of electric power lines are buried, no 500 kV line of this capacity or distance is installed underground anywhere in the world. In the event of a major power outage, restoration of service could take weeks rather than days. There are environmental concerns with burying lines as well. Finally, even if the technology was perfected to do this, it would cost 5 – 10 times as much as hanging the line on towers. These costs would be passed on to customers.
Myth: Upgrading existing lines to increase capacity could eliminate the need for this line.
Fact: Northern Virginia’s existing lines are routinely upgraded (to the tune of $140 million since 2000). Additional upgrades are planned for 2008, 2009 and 2010. The problem in Northern Virginia is not a lack of available electricity, but rather a congested system of lines that carry electricity to where it is needed. A new avenue for electricity to get where it is demanded is needed. Much like our roads, existing lines are simply overloaded. Because of the interconnected nature of the transmission system, if one line fails, it could spark a cascading failure of multiple lines that would quickly leave the region in the dark. This has happened in other parts of the United States.
Myth: Dominion should build a new power plant in Northern Virginia or install “neighborhood” generators to solve this problem.
Fact: In order to avoid building a new transmission line, Dominion would have to build the largest power plant ever constructed on the East Coast. There would be little public support for such an endeavor. As for neighborhood-based distributed generation, we would need about 31,000 generators spread across Northern Virginia. Who thinks that’s realistic?
Myth: Now that the federal government has dedicated Northern Virginia as part of a "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC)," if denied at the state level, Dominion will seek approval from the federal government to build this line, including the right to take private property.
Fact: Dominion supports the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) process and intends to continue using it. The SCC process assures public interest is considered and it assures minimal impact to the environment, cultural and historical areas (Code of Virginia 56-46.1). Dominion does not plan to use the federal siting authority for this line. The federal process is untried, untested and could not resolve the overload problem by the summer of 2011.
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