PJM Approves Loudoun’s First 765kV Transmission Line

Regional power coordinators this week approved a new list of proposed transmission line projects, including a 765-kilovolt line that is planned to cross through northern Loudoun.

The line is expected to travel along the same route as the 500 kV line that was approved last year. Both are planned to be built near the existing transmission line right-of-way from Jefferson County, WV, through northern Loudoun in the Lovettsville area to Maryland.

“The proposals resolve critical west-east regional transfer reinforcement needs by introducing 765 kV transmission lines connecting the AEP system in the western portion of the [PJM Interconnection] footprint with the rest of the network in the central and southern parts of PJM, primarily Virginia,” according to the announcement.

The line runs from West Virginia to the Maryland substation where the power will be routed through lower voltage transmission lines to demand in the surrounding areas. It is one of three projects approved by the PJM Board of Directors on Feb. 26.

Major need drivers behind these projects include load increase from the Dominion Energy service area requiring more power to be imported from the west. The organization’s load forecast for 2029 in 2024 is 10 gigawatts higher than was projected for 2029 in 2022, according to PJM documents. That is attributed primarily to data centers and electrification including electric vehicles.

The state’s increase in power importation was referenced in January by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in his State of the Commonwealth address.

“We now import roughly 40% of our power needs versus 18% in 2020,” he said, adding that Virginia will need to nearly double its power generation in the next 10 years.

In January PJM, whose region includes Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and parts of several other states, released its an updated load forecast with its expected demand for 2030 increasing by 16 GW over last year’s 2030 forecast.

Most of increase in forecasted demand stems from Ohio however Virginia imports power from many of the same sources in the midwest as surrounding states. And Virginia’s demand continues to be expected to increase sharply. 

PJM is warning that a capacity shortage could affect the grid as early as the second half of 2026.

“The demand for electricity is growing at the fastest pace in years, primarily from the proliferation of data centers, electrification of buildings and vehicles, and manufacturing,” according to a Jan. 30 announcement.

Retiring thermal generators, which provide dispatchable generation needed to maintain generation, and the pace that new replacement resources are being built are also contributing to the capacity problem.