Dominion Energy Projects to Underground Power Lines and the Persistency of Utility Poles

Summary

Dominion Energy has three projects in the City to underground power lines.

Most utility poles will remain because cable and communication lines are not being simulutaneously undergrounded for lack of funding from these companies.

In many parts of the City, Dominion has installed new utility poles to raise the power lines but the old utility poles have not been removed. The Planning Commissioners asked staff to address this issue.

Background

At a June 4 , 2025 meeting, Community Relations and Legislative Affairs Director, Cindy Mester, briefed the Planning Commission about Dominion Energy Virginia’s upcoming projects in the City and the City’s franchise agreements with utilities, Dominion Energy, Washington Gas, Verizon, RCN, and Cox. These agreements grant the utilities the right to bring services to our community using public land and the City’s right-of-way. Most have existed for decades and will be reviewed with the City Council this September.

Upcoming Dominion Energy undergrounding projects

In the last two years, the City Hall and nearby residential properties have experienced four  power outages of several hours caused by vehicles striking utility poles and storm damage to lines. The City has been pressing Dominion Energy to make the lines more reliable.

Recently, some City residents, including Commissioner Robert Kravinsky, received mail from Dominion Energy regarding the undergrounding of lines in their neighborhood. Ms. Mester explained that Dominion Energy’s efforts to underground power lines in residential neighborhoods to increase reliability began 10 years ago before running out of funds. Recently, Dominion Energy decided to continue the effort using funds from rate increases. Areas are selected based on outage data.

The upcoming projects are in three areas  of the City, shown on the map below:

  • Little Falls St and W Columbia St
  • Van Buren St and Underwood St
  • Welcome Dr

 All three projects are awaiting agreements from homeowners, some to secure easements, for the work to proceed. It also involves determining where the above-ground transformers will go. (Editor’s note: A Pulse reader informs us that the Welcome Drive lines to be undergrounded lies in Fairfax County.)

Map of Dominion power lines undergrounding
Undergrounding projects in areas shaded in blue. Source: Dominion Energy Undergrounding Project Status

Why utility poles will probably not go away

Ms. Mester explained that after Dominion Energy has removed their lines from the utility poles, they will not remove the poles if other utilities are still using them, i.e. cable lines. She believes that almost all the poles also house these other communication lines. Unfortunately, Verizon, Cox and RCN are not concurrently undergrounding their lines. Ms. Mester said they did not have the funding to do so. However, “the poles will be shorter to identify that there [are] no electric lines on [them],” she said.

Ms. Mester pointed out that the City’s zoning ordinance requires that all new utilities be underground. The City has also undergrounded all the utilities in capital improvement projects, e.g. sidewalk projects. However, the City cannot require existing lines to be undergrounded. (The Greening of Lincoln project will not underground utility lines. )

How do we change this?

Ms. Mester recommends trying to enact a change at the State level – asking the General Assembly to authorize the cable companies to increase their rates, as Dominion Energy was authorized to do, to fund the undergrounding of their lines.

Ms. Mester also said that residents can advocate for the lines to be undergrounded by contacting the cable companies, RCN, Cox, and Verizon, and to write to their State representatives, Senator Saddam Salim and Delegate Marcus Simon. Their contact information is provided at the end of this post.

Dominion Energy work sometimes leads to more poles

Dominion Energy power lines and obsolete utility poles
New and old utility poles on Parker Avenue

Commissioner Brent Krasner took the opportunity to raise the issue that Dominion Energy has installed new poles to raise the height of power lines next to old poles, but the cable companies have failed to move their lines to the new poles so that there are now two poles obstructing the sidewalk. Both he and Mr. Krasinsky said they have examples near their houses. The Pulse found an example on the sidewalk of Parker Avenue, pictured above.

Ms. Mester said that the companies are supposed to move the lines and remove the old poles, and the City can require them to perform a City-wide cleanup when renegotiating their franchise agreements.

Contact information

Community members can contact their state legislators and the three communication companies to self-advocate. The contact information for each is below.

State legislators:

 Communication companies:

Reference

Planning Commission meeting, June 4, 2025. YouTube video.