Across Virginia, our daily lives depend on something most of us rarely see: a reliable, resilient electric grid. It powers our homes, sustains our businesses, and increasingly determines where investment and opportunity take root.
As a state and regional economic development professional, I have seen firsthand that energy infrastructure is not just a background necessity. It is a deciding factor in whether communities grow and compete or fall behind. Much of Virginia’s grid has been built over generations. But meeting today’s demands and capturing tomorrow’s opportunities requires continued, forward-looking investment.
That reality is at the center of discussions surrounding Valley Link’s proposed Joshua Falls to Yeat 765kV transmission line, which would run from Campbell County to Culpeper County. Why am I such an advocate for this new transmission project, which does not pass through the Gateway Region? It is because the power grid is so interconnected that a strengthened backbone through Central Virginia creates ripple effects that extend far beyond its route, supporting communities like ours.
But there is another side of the conversation that deserves equal attention: the cost of inaction.
For southside Virginia — and communities located in the Gateway Region — that cost is not theoretical.
Let’s focus for a moment on Petersburg, which is working to strengthen and diversify its economy in order to support more than 16,000 jobs across over 1,000 businesses. It is a community where incomes remain below the statewide average, and many families continue to strive to secure economic stability. While Petersburg is ready and committed for growth, having the foundational infrastructure in place helps them to achieve their economic goals.
In Dinwiddie County, adjoining Petersburg, a newly developed high-voltage laboratory is helping advance the technologies that keep Virginia’s grid reliable, efficient, and secure. The work happening there is critical — not only for the region, but for the performance of the electric system serving the entire commonwealth.
But that innovation does not stand alone.
It depends on a modern electric transmission network to deliver results in the real world. Projects like the proposed Joshua Falls to Yeat transmission line are essential to that system —moving power efficiently, strengthening reliability and ensuring capacity is available where it is needed.
Together, the Dinwiddie high-voltage lab, transmission infrastructure like Joshua Falls to Yeat, and the broader Gateway Region form a single, integrated ecosystem. Innovation, delivery and economic opportunity are not separate; they are linked. And their benefits extend far beyond any one locality.
This matters because Virginia’s economy is evolving rapidly.
Data centers, advanced manufacturing and energy intensive industries are expanding across the commonwealth. Their growth already generates tens of billions in economic activity and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. But these industries share one non-negotiable requirement: access to dependable, large-scale electric capacity.
Northern Virginia’s global leadership in data centers did not happen by accident — it was built on decades of strategic investment in transmission and infrastructure. Today, that success is extending beyond Northern Virginia, creating opportunities for ours in southern Virginia to contribute and grow.
Virginia’s Gateway Region is already part of that success — supporting the broader system through infrastructure, innovation and workforce readiness. With the right investments, it can play an even larger role.
These investments strengthen the grid, support jobs and position regions to compete for new industry. They ensure that innovation taking place in places like Dinwiddie translates into real economic opportunity — not just locally, but across the commonwealth. And they help ensure that the benefits of Virginia’s economic growth are more widely shared.
That is what is at stake in conversations about projects like the Joshua Falls to Yeat transmission line.
This is not simply about infrastructure — it is about connection. Connection between regions. Connection between innovation and deployment. And connection between today’s decisions and tomorrow’s economic opportunities.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, and every project deserves careful scrutiny and meaningful public engagement. But standing still is not a viable path forward.
Virginia’s growth story is already being written. Regions like ours are helping to power it —through innovation, through infrastructure, and through their role in a connected statewide system.
Ensuring that all of Virginia can share in that opportunity requires continued investment in the grid that makes it possible.
Keith Boswell is the president and CEO of Virginia’s Gateway Region.
