HB 1487 and SB 827 Pass Both Chambers - Community Zoom Update Tomorrow Night

Hi everyone,

I want to share some genuinely significant news.

HB 1487and its Senate companion, SB 827, have now passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly.

This is not a small thing

This legislation- which creates a pilot program allowing the SCC to approve qualifying 500 kV transmission projects, like Golden to Mars, to be built underground - passed through both the House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate despite aggressive opposition from Dominion and other well-funded interests that fought it at every stage.

For those who have been following this from the beginning, you know how hard this was.

These bills were weakened, challenged, and nearly killed more than once.

The fact that they made it through both chambers is a testament to every resident who submitted a comment, showed up to testify, called a legislator, or simply refused to stop paying attention.

Thank you. This community showed up when it mattered - again and again - and it made a difference.

And none of this happens without our two representatives in Richmond who refused to let it die.

Delegate JJ Singh (HD-26) and Senator Kannan Srinivasan (SD-32), drove this legislation from start to finish - through committee, through floor votes, through relentless lobbying pressure from the other side.

They did not back down, and we would not be here without both of them.

As Delegate Singh put it:

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"We stand with our neighbors in Loudoun Valley Estates and across the Commonwealth in fighting back against these new invasive species - transmission lines.

This legislation provides a lifeline to communities overrun by electrical infrastructure and it's a powerful signal from the General Assembly that many of these lines ought to be placed underground."

Delegate JJ Singh (HD-26)

And Senator Srinivasan:

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"Since day one, I have stressed the importance of collaboration to ensure the Golden-Mars transmission project is pursued in a way that protects our communities.

This pilot program reflects that effort and provides an opportunity to help mitigate data center-driven energy infrastructure demands on residents across our Commonwealth."

Senator Kannan Srinivasan (SD-32)

Both bills passed with large bipartisan majorities thanks to their work. That matters.

Community Zoom Update - Monday, March 16 at 7:30 PM

We are holding a community update tomorrow evening to talk through what this means and what comes next.

Zoom link will be sent separately - please plan to join if you can

We will cover:

What HB 1487 / SB 827 actually do and what happens now that they have passed both chambers
Tuesday's Board of Supervisors hearing - why it matters and how to participate
What the County Board needs to do next to support underground
How you can help this week

Even if you have been following along, this is worth a few minutes of your time.

A lot has changed fast and we want to make sure everyone is on the same page heading into Tuesday.

What happens next

The bills now go to Governor Spanberger. We are cautiously optimistic, but nothing is final until it is signed.

But here is the thing - even with the Governor's signature, the legislation alone does not protect our community.

It creates a pathway. It creates the legal framework for underground construction of 500 kV lines.

But we still have work to do to make that happen. The end result is still far from certain.

Many of you have heard this before, but there is always something that is next.

And now, that next is the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

This Tuesday, March 17, the Board of Supervisors holds its next public hearing @ 6PM in Leesburg

The County has already done extraordinary work - they developed the hybrid underground alternative, funded experts, showed up at the SCC.

Now we need them to take the next step: stand firm, reaffirm their support for underground, and tell the SCC they are behind this community and this legislation.

For people who choose to speak, we will provide talking points. But more important than anything, is we need you there.

We will talk through all of this on the Zoom tomorrow night.

A note about data centers

The data centers are here. They are part of this community. And most residents understand that.

But everyone needs to be honest about what is driving all of this.

Being part of a community means being a responsible part of it. It means solutions have to make sense for the whole community - not just what is most expedient for data center operators and their utility partners.

As our own County leadership has said: "Trusted community partners don't make these sorts of decisions that could have a huge impact on the community without involving the community."

That principle should guide every decision about how we build the infrastructure to power this growth.

That principle should guide how Dominion and the Data Center Coalition conduct themselves.

Overhead 500 kV lines through residential neighborhoods is not a community-first solution. Underground is.

And they have said as much themselves.

On March 5, the White House and every major hyperscaler - including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI - signed the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, publicly committing that AI data center growth will not be subsidized by household ratepayers.

That includes funding grid upgrades like transmission lines. Not drawing from existing household supply. And paying whether they use the capacity or not.

These companies have a combined market cap of over $11 trillion.

Less than two hours of of just their combined revenue would cover the entire cost of undergrounding Golden-to-Mars.

They signed the pledge.

We should all hold them to it.

Our leaders should hold them to it.

Quick talking points if someone asks what this is about

SB 827 / HB 1487 create a pilot program that allows localities, the SCC, and a public utility to place 500 kV power lines underground - with localities enabled to issue bonds or a levy to ensure data centers pay their fair share
The bills passed both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly and are heading to the Governor
Delegate JJ Singh (HD-26) and Senator Kannan Srinivasan (SD-32) led the fight - passed with bipartisan majorities
Loudoun County has already developed a feasible hybrid underground plan for the Golden-to-Mars line
The County Board of Supervisors needs to reaffirm its support for underground and tell the SCC they stand behind it
Tuesday's BOS hearing is the next opportunity to make that case