Dominion will bury power lines in Annandale/Mason District

Buried power lines would prevent power outages during storms.

Dominion Energy Virginia is planning to bury power lines along dozens of residential streets in the Annandale/Mason District area. 

The Dominion Energy Strategic Underground Program is aimed at improving electrical reliability by getting homeowners to agree to have power lines buried in their front yards. 

The company considers outage data for the past 10 years to determine which overhead electric distribution lines are most prone to outages and can be relocated cost-effectively.

These streets in the following zip codes in Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, Falls Church, Lincolnia, and Fairfax will be affected: 

• 22003 – Beverly Street/Auburn Street (85 customers affected), Black Forest Street (149), Braddock Road (7), Branch Road (13), Brittany Drive (13), Burbank Road (60), Chanticleer Avenue (25), Estabrook Drive (48), Lake Boulevard (120), Little River Turnpike/High Point Court (12), Mason Ridge Drive (70), The Midway (26), Ponderosa Drive (50), Starr Jordan Drive (47), and Wakefield Drive/Sherando Lane (3).
• 22031 – Bel Glade Street (15), Cedarest Road (15), Coronado Terrace (20), James Street (16), Maple Lane (12), Mode Street (43), Morningside Drive (58), Robin Ridge Road (80), Sayre Road (17). 
• 22041 – Pinewood Terrace (34).
• 22042 – Holmes Run Drive (296), Sheffield Drive (11). 
• 22312 – Canard Street (8), Grafton Street (31). Hillcrest Place (28), Pima Street (54), Rynex Drive (24), 

By burying power lines, Dominion reduces the number of repairs needed to restore service following a major storm. 

This benefits all customers, even those whose lines remain overhead, because there will be fewer lines to repair and fewer locations to reach on a house-by-house basis, allowing crews to focus on other outages, says Julia Mathers, spokesperson for Dominion’s underground program. 

Utility poles will remain in place to carry cable lines and streetlights. “We reached out to Cox, Verizon, and Comcast and asked if they want their lines to go underground, too. They declined for business reasons,” Mathers says.  

Related story: Residents urge Dominion to bury power lines

Dominion usually hosts informational meetings with affected homeowners. During the corona pandemic, those meetings are virtual. Homeowners are not compensated for giving Dominion an easement.

It’s a voluntary program, so if enough homeowners on a street refuse to participate, the project won’t happen on that street. If only a few people on a street refuse to give Dominion an easement, the company could redesign the project to go around those houses. 

Funding for the undergrounding project comes from a $1.31 surcharge on monthly electric bills for all residential customers in Virginia. 

Over the last four years, more than 1,300 miles of the most outage-prone overhead lines in Virginia have been buried underground. According to Dominion, converting just 10 percent of the Dominion system – or 4,000 miles of the most outage-prone lines – could reduce restoration times following severe weather events by up to 50 percent.