SD29 - Implications of a Requirement to Consider Undergrounding of Electric Transmission Lines


Executive Summary:
Senate Bill 783, Chapter 332 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly. of the 2005 Regular Session of the Virginia General Assembly requested the State Corporation Commission (“Commission” or “SCC”) “to analyze the implications of a requirement that it consider imposing a condition, when requested by certain localities, that proposed electrical transmission lines be installed underground.” In the conduct of this study, participation of interested parties was solicited to respond to two information requests – one consisting of several key threshold questions relative to the procedural and evidentiary implications of the proposed legislation described in Senate Bill 783 (“SB 783”) and another seeking information relative to the costs associated with a requirement to develop an underground transmission line proposal.

Responses to the first information request were divided on the threshold questions, including whether a locality should participate as a formal party to a proceeding in which it requests SCC consideration of an underground alternative and whether the responsibility to develop an underground alternative should rest primarily with the requesting locality or the applicant utility. Responses to the second information request provided information related primarily to the estimated costs associated with the development of an underground proposal, including (1) route development, (2) preliminary line design, and (3) development and defense of supporting evidence. Among the state’s five investor owned utilities, the estimated total costs to develop an underground proposal ranged from $91,000 to $2,750,000.

The Commission believes the Code of Virginia and the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure can adequately accommodate the proposed legislation described in SB 783. Moreover, the proposed legislation would not necessarily require the Commission to change the procedures under which it presently considers alternative transmission line routing pursuant to Title 56 of the Code apart from codifying the usual Commission practice of addressing, in the final order, its rejection of any proposed transmission line alternative, including underground routes. Given that (1) the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure allow any party to a transmission line proceeding to propose an underground alternative, (2) the Code of Virginia requires the Commission to consider environmental impacts and the public interest when considering transmission line applications, and (3) as a matter of practice the Commission states its reasons for declining to impose underground transmission construction, the proposed legislation described in SB 783 would have negligible effects on current law and Commission practice.

In summary, as indicated above, there were several potential procedural and evidentiary issues identified by the Commission Staff and addressed by interested parties who participated in this study. However, there was no consensus among the interested parties as to whether certain changes to the procedures under which the Commission considers alternative transmission line routing pursuant to Title 56 of the Code would prove to be beneficial. The Commission will implement any changes to statutory policy deemed necessary by the General Assembly to improve the process.