Supervisors press Appalachian Power on local benefits, grid impacts and environmental concerns

After the Appalachian Power presentation, multiple supervisors pressed the company on tangible local benefits, grid impacts and environmental reviews. One supervisor asked why the county should host the project if its power would flow to Northern Virginia data centers; Rob Mann said the SMR would support the regional grid and its customers but that the electric system is connected and electrons cannot be guaranteed to remain local. Mann said the company manages generation within the PJM regional transmission operator framework and that increased local generation can reduce congestion and regional prices.

Board members asked about capacity and job and tax benefits. Mann said each SMR unit could produce about 300–500 megawatts and the company was looking at putting three or four units on the site; he also said an economic‑impact study previously cited suggested roughly $4 million per year in tax revenue once the facility is operational but that staff should be allowed to confirm exact numbers. Supervisors raised concerns about rate impacts if the company sought cost recovery through state rate cases and asked the company to consider more localized, tangible benefits for the host community; Mann said Appalachian Power’s charitable foundation and other community investments could be options, and he agreed to follow up with additional data and engineering studies.