Broadband-less rural Virginians to get fast internet

In rural parts of Surry County, Virginia, and other rural communities of the Mother of Presidents, thousands have been living without high-speed internet. But now, thanks to an agreement between two energy providers, they could receive broadband access.

“This partnership brings rural Surry County into the modern communications age, bridging a vital utility gap through reliable high-speed broadband services to residents and businesses, essential to Surry’s social and economic prosperity,” said Surry Acting County Administrator Melissa Rollins.

The two energy providers partnering up are Prince George Electric Cooperative (PGEC) and Dominion Energy.

PGEC is a not-for-profit member-owned energy provider serving more than 12,000 homes, businesses and farms in Surry, Dinwiddie, Isle of Wight, Prince George, Sussex and Southampton counties. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, RURALBAND, has started offering broadband service within the service territory of the cooperative.

Dominion, one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, has over $100 billion of assets providing electric generation, transmission and distribution. It also offers natural gas storage, transmission, distribution and import/export services. Over seven million residential and commercial customers in 18 states get natural gas or electricity from Dominion.

“We appreciate the partnership and commitment by Dominion Energy and PGEC to bring broadband access to Surry and other rural Virginia communities,” said Rollins.

It is the first time a cooperative and a utility have come together to expand fast internet in the Commonwealth. The partnership would extend high-speed internet access to around 4,500 Dominion and 2,200 PGEC customers in Surry County not having access to broadband services presently.

Ed Baine, Dominion’s senior vice president of power delivery, stated, “Dominion Energy is committed to the communities in which we serve and live and embraces the opportunity with PGEC to expand access to broadband in rural communities.”

He added, “Access will support economic development and social equity while simultaneously promoting numerous public benefits and educational opportunities for citizens of the Commonwealth.”

Dominion is installing fiber in rural areas as it moves forward with efforts to provide electricity to all within its service territory. It is able to cut high-speed internet deployment expenditures for ISPs by taking advantage of fiber capacity for functional requirements and fast internet access.

Under the agreement, Dominion will serve as the “middle mile” provider by enabling RURALBAND to lease fiber and deliver last-mile Fiber To The Home service. The project will be filed with the State Corporation Commission for regulatory approval later this year.

PGEC president Casey Logan commented, “We are excited to have Dominion Energy partner with PGEC on this exciting opportunity to bring high speed internet to a beautiful waterfront community in need of access for education and economic development growth.”

This is the first agreement created through the Grid Transformation & Security Act of 2018 and legislation patroned by Del. Israel O’Quinn in 2019. The project will need a funding of around $16-$18 million, which will be provided by PGEC, Dominion, RURALBAND and state and federal grants.

Image credit - Ser Amantio di Nicolao at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)