By Courtney Taylor
Recently, Dominion Power has been working on the power lines throughout the county. According to dom.com, this work is scheduled to be going on all the way until the summer of 2012.
Driving around the county, it is not easily missed. The work has caused some traffic delays and many people do not know what is going on with the power lines or why the work is needed. Health and P.E. teacher Lisa McDaniels says she has noticed the work going on.
“I have had to wait for traffic,”McDaniels said. “Sometimes the work has affected the traffic flow on my way out of school.”
The goal of this work is to build a new 230,000-volt transmission line and substation facility to serve both Hopewell and Prince George. Dominion is also updating existing lines. Within the county, the electric company is replacing the electric poles, which are mostly wooden, with steel poles that are twenty feet higher. Johnny Harris, an employee for Dominion Power Company, said this work is necessary in order to meet today’s construction standards and accommodate to the age of the facilities.
“The present line has been in service for over 35 years,” Harris said.
The changes being made are near Middle Road at the Prince George substation. Dominion is also working on the path from the Hopewell substation to the Prince George substation and the Prince George substation to Fort Lee. The work being done is not costing Prince George any money because it is part of Dominion’s normal reliability and maintenance program.
Once this work is completed, the new transmission line and substation is supposed to provide more electric service to support local growth as well as improve the regional economy.
“Upon completion, customers will see a more reliable service. This translates to fewer power outages and shorter durations,” Harris stated.