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Dominion agrees to bury power lines in Prince William, ending legal standoff

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March 23, 2018 at 1:52 p.m. EDT
An old graveyard sits behind the burned down Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, part of the enclave near Haymarket, Va., that was threatened by a plan for above-ground power lines that will now be buried near Interstate 66. (Jason Andrew/For The Washington Post)

The Dominion Energy utility company has agreed to bury most of a proposed power-line route in Prince William County beneath Interstate 66, ending more than three years of controversy surrounding the project, which will help power a new data center complex outside Haymarket.

Under a settlement reached this week with local community groups, Dominion will seek state permission to place most of a five-mile power-line route connecting Haymarket to Gainesville beneath the highway — a $167 million effort whose cost will be absorbed by Dominion customers over time in the form of higher rates.