WASHINGTON — If you want to discuss a controversial power line proposed for Route 50 in Loudoun County, you’ll have to wait.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has postponed two hearings — one scheduled for Aug. 18 in Leesburg, the other for Aug. 25 in Chantilly — until further notice.
“The process of picking a route was just going too fast,” says Loudoun County Supervisor Matt Letourneau.
“There was a joint request from Dominion [Virginia Power], and from Loudoun County and all the stakeholders,” Letourneau continues. “There really has not been enough time for Dominion to evaluation the county’s alternate routes. So this is going to give Dominion a little bit of time to do that.”
Letourneau says Loudoun supervisors still oppose the above-ground route along Route 50 for the new power line, which will supply power to a new data center on Poland Road.
The power line would hurt development along that stretch of Route 50, Letourneau says.
“[It would] take away right-of-way that is badly needed for projects, interfere with their development and really create an eyesore right in the area that’s developing right now,” he says.
Loudoun County is pushing Dominion to consider four alternatives to the Poland Road route.
There’s no word when the Virginia commission will re-schedule the hearings and resume the process of locating the new power line.
WTOP’s Rich Johnson contributed to this report.
