Pantops Coalition Preserving Pantops through resident-led advocacy pantopscoalition@gmail.com

Dominion's proposed 230 kV transmission rebuild project

This is Bigger than Taller Towers.

At a minimum, Dominion's proposal will affect homes and viewsheds. It will cause long-term construction disruption and require significant tree clearing. There are health and future exposure questions, as well as property impacts and even higher ratepayer costs — AND, it will set the precedent for future grid expansion. Pantops and surrounding-area neighbors still have time to speak out. We deserve a local public hearing, full transparency, and a serious review of lower-impact alternatives, including targeted undergrounding or other mitigation where neighborhood impacts are greatest. Let's act BEFORE this project is approved as filed.

Submit a Public Comment Request a Local Hearing Join Updates
Project corridor Charlottesville to Gordonsville
Filed with SCC April 23, 2026
SCC case number PUR-2026-00050
Dominion project website Dominion project page

Dominion photo simulations

Compare existing and proposed views.

Use the slider to review Dominion's public before-and-after visualizations.

Featured Fontana view existing conditions near Frost Montessori School Featured Fontana view proposed conditions near Frost Montessori School Existing Proposed Frost Montessori School

Fontana Drive simulation: Frost Montessori School is visible near the center of the frame. Existing conditions compared with proposed transmission structures.

Dominion notes: "Photo simulations are for discussion purposes only. Final design is subject to change pending public, engineering, and regulatory review."

Existing structures about 56 ft
Proposed structures average 116 ft
Tallest proposed up to 150 ft

JULY 8TH IS THE DEADLINE TO MAKE CHANGES

Submit an online public comment and file a formal request for a local SCC hearing by this date. Public comment is the easiest way to be counted in the record. A formal hearing request is the strongest procedural step for asking the SCC to hold a local forum. Requesting a hearing does not mean you are required to speak.

Fastest action

Submit a public comment.

Public comments are where neighbors can speak in their own voice and add personal concerns to the SCC public record. Share how this project may affect your home, commute, neighborhood, viewshed, property, business, health concerns, or daily life.

You can also ask for a local hearing in your public comment, but public comment does not replace a formal hearing request through SCC eFiling or by mail.

View sample public comment

Use your own voice

The sample below is only a starting point. The strongest public comments include one or two personal details about where you live, work, travel, or what you are concerned about. Consider asking for targeted undergrounding or other meaningful mitigation where overhead structures would create the greatest local impacts.

Submit public comment

Important: SCC submissions may become part of the public case record. Only include information you are comfortable making public.

Strongest procedural action

Request a local hearing.

Affected residents should have the opportunity to understand the proposal, ask questions, and be heard before the SCC makes a final decision.

This is the formal way to ask the SCC to convene a local public hearing. File through SCC eFiling or by mail. This is not a promise to speak; it is a request for the SCC to hold a local forum before deciding the case.

Virginia law says 20 or more qualifying written hearing requests can require at least one hearing in the affected area. Every request matters; do not assume someone else has already filed.

Prepare hearing request Read the June 2 SCC order

Local hearing request instructions

Step 1: Choose the filing path that fits you

If you already have SCC eFiling access, use the prepared hearing-request letter below and file the request electronically through SCC eFiling.

If you do not already have SCC eFiling access, use the prepared hearing-request letter, sign it, and mail it directly to the Clerk of the Commission. Do not spend time trying to get new eFiling credentials for this deadline.

Mail hearing requests to: Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. Make sure your request refers to Case No. PUR-2026-00050 and is filed by July 8, 2026.

Step 2: Prepare the local hearing request

You can copy the template below and fill in the blanks, or write your own request. Either way, the SCC order says a hearing request should include these four things:

  1. Your interest in the case
  2. The specific action you want
  3. The legal basis for that action
  4. Why a hearing should be conducted

Be sure to personalize the areas [in brackets]:

Community stakes

What's at stake?

The visible towers are only one part of the issue. Residents need clear answers about local impacts, long-term exposure questions, route choices, project cost, and who benefits before permanent changes are approved.

Homes and viewsheds

Taller steel structures could change daily views, property enjoyment, neighborhood character, and the experience of living near the corridor.

Construction and clearing

Residents need clear answers about access, tree clearing, noise, restoration, construction timing, and how specific streets and homes will be affected.

Health and long-term exposure

Residents deserve project-specific answers about expected field levels, distance from homes and schools, and how lower-impact alternatives were evaluated.

Historic, scenic, and environmental resources

Pantops sits within a broader landscape of historic, scenic, conservation, and cultural resources. The SCC review should fully account for those impacts.

Costs and ratepayer fairness

Dominion states the conceptual project cost is about $97 million in 2025 dollars. Residents deserve to know who pays, who benefits, and what precedent this sets for future transmission upgrades.

Questions residents deserve answered

What should the public record explain?

Before the SCC decides this case, residents deserve plain-language answers about need, alternatives, cost, and whether avoidable impacts can be reduced.

Need and transparency What is driving the need for this rebuild?
Alternatives and mitigation Has Dominion evaluated targeted undergrounding or other mitigation in the most affected residential areas?
Costs and benefits Who benefits, who pays, and who bears the impacts?
Community question Why should neighborhoods absorb avoidable impacts without full public review?

Route map

Find your home, street, or commute on the route map.

Use Dominion's interactive route map to see how the proposed corridor relates to Fontana, Pantops, Route 20, Richmond Road, nearby neighborhoods, and surrounding areas.

The more residents understand where the route runs, the easier it is to document real local impacts and submit specific comments. If you sign into the GeoVoice portal, you can also see community comments along the corridor and submit your own map-based comment for Dominion's project team to review.

If the map does not load here, open the full Dominion GeoVoice map.

Key dates

Project timeline

These are the dates residents should watch while the SCC reviews Dominion's application. The most urgent public-facing deadline is July 8, 2026.

  1. DEQ environmental review period began.
  2. SCC public comments, formal hearing requests, and respondent filings are due.
  3. DEQ final comments are due to the SCC unless review is suspended.
  4. SCC Staff Report is due with findings and recommendations.
  5. Dominion may respond to the Staff Report, hearing requests, and comments.
  6. Dominion requested a final SCC order by this date.
  7. Possible construction start if Dominion's requested schedule holds.
  8. Dominion's desired completion and in-service target.

Stay connected

Join the Pantops Coalition update list.

We will use this list for deadline reminders, SCC updates, hearing coordination, and practical ways neighbors can document local impacts.

Pantops Coalition is a self-organized group of concerned Pantops-area residents and homeowners. We are simply your neighbors, working to keep people informed before permanent decisions are made.

Join the update list

Add your contact information and tell us how you want to stay involved. If this form is not active yet, email us directly at pantopscoalition@gmail.com.

I am interested in

Write and be heard

Ask public officials to support affected residents.

Public officials can help press for transparency, a local SCC hearing, careful review of alternatives, and mitigation for affected neighborhoods.

Resources

Official links and source materials

Start with the official case record, Dominion's project page, and Piedmont Environmental Council resources. The additional links provide useful background for residents who want to dig deeper.

Piedmont Environmental Council Transmission line resources

Read PEC background, advocacy updates, and resources for affected communities.

PEC website Transmission resources
Health background Electric and magnetic fields

Review plain-language background on electric and magnetic fields from power lines.

EPA background NCI EMF fact sheet

FAQ

Common questions

Quick answers to questions neighbors may have as they review the project and decide how to participate.

Are we against reliable power?

No. Pantops Coalition supports reliable power with responsible planning. The ask is for transparency, public input, and lower-impact alternatives before permanent impacts are imposed on homes, viewsheds, historic resources, and conservation areas.

Why should I care if I cannot see the line from my house?

This project is also about precedent, regional load growth, ratepayer fairness, public process, and how much infrastructure burden local communities should absorb without serious alternatives and mitigation.

What about health and EMF concerns?

Power-line health concerns usually focus on long-term exposure to extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields. Major public-health agencies have not found clear proof that power-line EMF causes cancer, but they do acknowledge unresolved questions, especially studies reporting an association between higher residential magnetic-field exposure and childhood leukemia. Residents deserve clear project-specific information about expected field levels, distance from homes, and how lower-impact alternatives were evaluated.

What is the SCC?

The Virginia State Corporation Commission regulates utilities in Virginia. Dominion's application is being reviewed in SCC Case PUR-2026-00050.

What are the main asks?

Require a local public hearing, property-specific visual analysis, serious lower-impact alternatives, transparency on load drivers and costs, and mitigation for the most affected residential, scenic, historic, and conservation segments.