Dominion: New power line should reduce blackouts

By Nate Delesline III

Published: June 27, 2008

After four power outages this month — three of which left thousands of residents in the dark for several hours — Dominion Virginia Power assured town and county officials last week that it was accelerating construction of the new main transmission line to prevent future power failures.

The main transmission line provides a source of electricity to customers served by Dominion, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Town of Culpeper Light and Power customers.

Officials explained that when the main transmission line failed, all customers, regardless of provider, lost power if their area was served by that line.

Alexander Smith, a spokesman for Dominion Virginia Power, said that three of the four failures stemmed from issues with the temporary line, which is several feet lower than the new line.

Hoping to avoid future outages, Dominion has stepped up the construction schedule for the new line, pushing up the expected completion date from December to September.

Dominion Virginia Power Project Manager Rusty Meadows said construction crews are working seven days a week to complete the project early.

He also said that crews also have been involved in an “aggressive trimming” program to avoid a repeat of a sagging line landing on a tree.

In 2006, Dominion decided to upgrade the line from Stevensburg to Culpeper as the line couldn’t meet load projections due to anticipated growth.

The upgrade involves installing taller poles that will accommodate a double-circuit line that will connect with a new Rappahannock substation along McDevitt Drive.

From there, electricity is distributed to Dominion, REC and town customers.

On two occasions, the power failure prompted several Culpeper retailers to trash perishable items ruined by the blackout. Dominion officials cited the following reasons for the failures:

* June 4: Extremely high winds tossed a metal barn roof across the transmission line
* June 7: The temporary power line sagged due to extreme heat and made contact with a tree limb
* June 10: Debris blown on the line is suspected, but a definite cause has not been determined
* June 16: A distribution capacitor failed, causing a minor outage to Dominion customers and town customers.

Nate Delesline III can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or .