When the topic of power lines in western Prince William County comes up, memories may flash backs to the 2006 fight that pitted Dominion Virginia Power against hundreds of angry county residents wanting their property values and scenery protected.

A considerably smaller powerline saga is underway again in the local area and once again Dominion is at the center of it.

However, instead of running a line connecting southwestern Pennsylvania to Loudoun County through some of the most pristine land along the east coast, this project is about 2.5-3 miles long and runs along railroad tracks.

The idea is for Dominion to connect the Cannon Branch Substation east of Godwin Drive and south of Route 28 with a new substation east of Manassas Regional Airport, next to Harry Parrish Boulevard.

According to a statement from Dominion, "Recent increases in electrical demand, coupled with new commercial and economic development in the area has resulted in a need to upgrade an existing substation and build new transmission facilities in the City of Manassas and Prince William County."

Manassas Del. Jackson Miller (R-50th) said this week that after he talked with Dominion representatives right around New Year's, the company agreed to stick with a route that would run alongside railroad tracks and south along the Prince William Parkway before crossing over Harry Parrish Boulevard and ending east of the airport.

"There was no concerns about it over there," said Miller. "No one cares about it going over Harry Parrish Boulevard."

What did concern Manassas residents was how close the lines would come to the Wellington and Clover Hill residential subdivisions.

According to Miller, the alternate routes initially suggested by Dominion that were closest to the housing clusters have been "knocked out of consideration."

The new right-of-way corridor for the lines will average 120-feet wide. As for the lines themselves, they will "likely be single-pole steel structures" with an average height of 110 feet, according to the Dominion Web site.

Miller said that he expected the lines to be about the "same height as the ones we have in Old Town."

The lines are also not expected to be close enough to the road construction at Route 28 and Wellington Road to cause problems over there, according to Miller.

"I don't know that it really affects Manassas much," he said. "What I've been told is that it will actually help Manassas's (electrical) system be more reliable."

The former Manassas city councilman, currently serving his second full term in Richmond as a delegate, explained that the city council really did not have much power in the situation other than to make recommendations because Dominion ultimately answers in this scenario to the State Corporation Commission, which is currently evaluating the proposal.

"It was going to happen," said Miller.