Community pushes FirstEnergy for Page–Sperryville transmission transparency and undergrounding option

PEC (Piedmont Environmental Council) has called on the Rappahannock community to attend the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors meeting on July 6 to press FirstEnergy for greater transparency on the Page–Sperryville transmission line rebuild and to request a cost estimate for undergrounding at U.S. Route 211.

• Main action: PEC is urging public attendance at the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors update meeting so citizens can question FirstEnergy about the proposed 14-mile, 138-kV Page–Sperryville rebuild and demand a cost estimate for undergrounding the line at the U.S. Route 211 entrance to historic Sperryville.

  • Date/Time: Monday, July 6 at 2 p.m.
  • Location: Regular daytime supervisors’ meeting (Rappahannock Board of Supervisors — see county board page).
  • Agenda/Subject: FirstEnergy and Rappahannock Electric Coop will give an update; public forum available for questions and concerns.

• Background and details: PEC states FirstEnergy has refused to provide substantive planning details (saying “this information will be available when our application is made to the SCC”), has declined a mediated Q&A, and only asserted that “putting the line underground would greatly increase costs and could create more impacts for landowners.” PEC notes FirstEnergy is expected to file with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) this summer, requests exploration of undergrounding the visible section at U.S. Route 211, and also urges contacting the Virginia General Assembly and Governor Spanberger to pause new data center approvals and end the $1.9 billion tax exemption.