RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion Energy is seeking to raise electricity bills to pay for burying power lines across the Commonwealth.
The company filed an application with the SCC Monday for approval of a third phase of its Strategic Underground Program that buries the most outage-prone power lines across Virginia.
If passed, the measure would increase the average residential customer’s bill by $1.39, according to Dominion spokesperson Janell Hancock.
Gov. Ralph Northam recently signed legislation that would establish reliability and cost thresholds for future phases of the project. Regulators estimated that the new law will eventually add $5 a month to an average residential customer’s bill.
Under the Strategic Underground Program, Dominion Energy says they have converted more than 780 miles of power lines; 318 of which were in Central Virginia.
“If approved, phase 3 would convert an additional 416 miles of “tap lines” feeding homes and neighborhoods, reducing exposure to extreme weather events,” said Hancock.
