Update – Sept. 22: Thank you to all those who came out last week to the first State Corporation Commission (SCC) public hearing for the proposed “Golden to Mars” electric transmission line, an unprecedented high voltage line cutting through a dense suburban community in eastern Loudoun to provide power to data centers in the county.
The community packed the 999-seat auditorium at Rock Ridge High School, with hundreds of your neighbors and 40 speakers, including multiple government officials, telling the SCC that Dominion’s plan doesn’t work. In a strikingly unified message that also spoke to deep personal impacts, almost everyone advocated for undergrounding this data center-driven line or otherwise avoiding neighborhoods (see reporting from Virginia Mercury, Loudoun Now and Loudoun Times-Mirror). When the meeting officially ended at 9:30 p.m., many were still waiting for their turn to speak, demonstrating a remarkable level of community engagement.
This coming Monday, Sept. 29, at the final public hearing (6:30 p.m. at Rock Ridge High School), it is crucial the community show the same strong stance to the SCC. Those who signed up but did not get a chance to speak last time will be able to testify at this hearing first, and new sign-ups are encouraged! Please come out and share your concerns about running high-voltage lines for data centers through residential neighborhoods.
Registration to give testimony occurs in-person before the hearing starts, so plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early! If the speaker list runs over again, there will be public comment by telephone on Monday, Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. (preregister by 5 p.m. Dec. 9 using the public witness appearance form). Additionally, anyone, whether you speak at a hearing or not, may submit written comments online for the case record.
Your presence at this final public hearing will make a huge impact and we hope to see you there!
Tell the SCC that above ground transmission lines don’t belong in Loudoun’s residential neighborhoods
This text was taken from an email alert sent out on September 10, 2025. Sign up for email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
Two critical opportunities are coming up to advocate for undergrounding of the proposed “Golden to Mars” electric transmission line, an unprecedented high voltage line cutting through a dense suburban community in eastern Loudoun to provide power to data centers in the County.
The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is holding public hearings on this project at Rock Ridge High School (43460 Loudoun Reserve Drive) on Sept. 18 and 29, both at 6:30 p.m.
First announced in June 2024, this transmission line has generated significant controversy, as all six routes Dominion has proposed for the massive line would impact different parts of the community, including schools, businesses, and the three Loudoun Valley Estates neighborhoods. The continued need for more transmission lines like this through our communities is the secondary consequence of out-of-control data center development and one of the many reasons PEC is advocating for mitigation, thoughtful regulations and better data center planning in Loudoun and the state as a whole.
The case for undergrounding
In January, although the Board of Supervisors endorsed two routes, they advocated for undergrounding within 500 feet of homes and schools, and in March the School Board outright rejected any overhead route on their property. Since then, both bodies and government representatives, including State Delegates JJ Singh and Marty Martinez, State Senator Kannan Srinivasan, and US Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, have submitted a unified message to the SCC: put the line underground.
PEC joins the calls for partial undergrounding around homes, an effort being led by the county (who has contracted an in-progress engineering study), and supported by a joint coalition of the impacted HOAs (NoPowerLines.org). Undergrounding a transmission line of this size is not common, but can be done, and we argue that the level of impact must be minimized through more innovative solutions.
→ View a more detailed timeline on how we got here.
What you can do
Join the collective effort in advocating to the SCC that electrical infrastructure to serve industrial uses doesn’t belong in residential communities.
Who is the SCC?
In Virginia, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) is an agency of the state government that serves as the central filing office and regulatory body for utilities – in this case, Dominion Energy. Three Commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly, sit on the SCC and issue rulings.
The Golden to Mars project
Golden to Mars is the last segment of a three-part loop to serve Data Center Alley, which connects with the Aspen to Golden line (currently under litigation) and the Wishing Star to Mars line. It also includes two offshoot 230 kV loops (Lockridge and Sojourner).
Dominion Energy plans to build eight to nine miles of new transmission infrastructure in the Ashburn and Dulles area to carry 500 kV and 230 kV powerlines to Data Center Alley.
Monopoles, up to 185 feet tall, will connect the Golden substation (just west of Route 28, near the Dulles Wegmans) to the Mars substation (just west of Dulles International Airport, near the Old Ox Road data centers).
Dominion’s six proposals would require right-of-way through privately-owned land and will run alongside homes in Loudoun Valley Estates. For example, Route 3A even goes through backyards, with a total of 182 homes falling within 500 feet of the proposed high-voltage line.
Who’s behind it? Data Centers.
“Rapid growth in electrical demand in the hightech sector, which includes data centers in eastern Loudoun County, has resulted in the need for new electric transmission infrastructure.”
– Dominion Energy (Golden to Mars Meeting Postcard)
More about the unprecedented energy demand of data centers, driving this buildout, is available at Virginians for a Smarter Digital Future, our new advocacy campaign.
Loudoun County is participating in the proceedings as an intervenor with the right to submit direct testimony and cross examine witnesses. PEC has intervened in the case, as has a coalition of HOAs.
PEC has also intervened in the case (along with several others) and supports the county’s intervention on behalf of the affected residents. Approving data centers without regard to their impacts on the community is the county’s responsibility and it is critical that they are a part of this process. PEC feels the data centers should pay the costs of undergrounding their infrastructure as a necessary, neighborly step to mitigate the impacts on residents.
Watch our video on data centers and the energy crisis:
Why it’s important to speak up
Existing neighborhoods across Loudoun, and beyond, could be facing these challenges in the near future, too. A united community stance sends a strong message to regulators that industrialization of residential neighborhoods is inappropriate and data center companies should cover any and all mitigation — such as undergrounding lines where necessary — to avoid harming their residential neighbors.
Further, no matter which neighborhoods end up physically impacted, everyone will pay the cost. Losses will occur not just to neighborhood character and environmental resources, but directly to residents’ pocketbooks. Under Dominion’s rate structure (currently under review), all ratepayers will subsidize this line, an added insult to injury to pay for a line through communities that will only benefit some of the world’s wealthiest corporations.
Learn More at a Pre-Hearing Rally!
Prepare for the SCC hearings at a community rally! Please join us on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 10:00 a.m. for a Golden to Mars community rally, Q&A and canvassing event, hosted by Loudoun Valley Estates at the LVE Clubhouse, 43636 Lucketts Bridge Circle.
PEC’s Loudoun County Land Use field representatives will discuss participating in upcoming SCC hearings and preparing effective comments. More event details are available on NoPowerLines.org.
How to be heard
In response to strong community concerns, the SCC will hold two public hearings to receive testimony from residents and local groups. This is a testament to the tremendous level of both public engagement and potential impact of this project. It is crucial that residents show support at both meetings.
Attend the SCC Public Hearings
Where: Rock Ridge High School
43460 Loudoun Reserve Drive
When:
Thursday, September 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
AND Monday, September 29, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Other participation options:
1. Submit written comments (by 5:00 p.m. Dec. 9, 2025)
2. Provide telephone testimony for the evidentiary hearing on Dec. 15 at 10:00 a.m. (Preregister by 5:00 p.m. Dec. 9, 2025).
More information is available here.
The SCC hearings will transform Rock Ridge High School into the Commission’s courtroom, following applicable laws and procedural rules. But don’t be intimidated! Anyone is welcome to attend, and we encourage you to testify on the personal impacts or precedent of this project.
Instructions for attending or testifying are available on the SCC website. Individual testimony will be limited to no more than five minutes. If you plan to speak, please arrive early. Signs are not permitted.
How to be persuasive
In order to have the most impact, it is important to tailor your comments to the SCC’s priorities and objectives, as their decision-making is guided by strict standards.
→ The SCC’s Statutory Considerations: The key statute governing impacts in transmission line cases is Va. Code § 56-46.1. Read the full section of state code on the Virginia State Law Portal.
Talking Points
To make your testimony as effective as possible, focus on one of the following topics. More-detailed explanations for each bullet point below are available on our website.
- Undergrounding will minimize impact to the local neighborhood and bring economic benefit to residents and the county by preserving property values that would be degraded by overhead high voltage transmission lines.
- Environmental impact can be minimized by use of existing right of way and by undergrounding outside the Broad Run floodplain.
- The cost of a partial undergrounding is necessary mitigation that should be paid by the data center industry and is doable under the proposed new rate structure.
- The urgent energy demand claimed by Dominion is a crisis by contract in that Dominion is agreeing to provide power to data centers without the necessary infrastructure in place; so the claim of “limited” time to pursue an underground option is artificial and set by data center interests, which is unfair to the community.
- Undergrounding demonstrates fair treatment to residents and the community, avoiding inequity between neighborhoods and protecting those not driving demand.
- The undergrounding proposal can serve as a much-needed mitigation pilot project for Dominion to effectively plan and construct future underground projects where it makes sense.
Thank you for staying informed in your community, and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions. PEC has filed as a participant in this case alongside the County, the School Board, the three HOAs of Loudoun Valley Estates, and the Northern Virginia HOA Roundtable. We will continue to share updates and hope to see you at the Community Meeting on Sept. 13 and/or at the upcoming SCC hearings on Sept. 18 and 29!
Regards,
Gem Bingol and Emily Johnson
Gem Bingol
Land Use Senior Field Representative – Loudoun County
[email protected]
540-347-2334 ext. 7041
Emily Johnson
Land Use Field Representative – Loudoun County
[email protected]
540-347-2334 ext. 7044