Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced plans to conduct the pollution checks for plants and factories built before the federal Clean Air Act in 1970.

When electrical engineer Olin Randall Compton joined Dominion Virginia Power’s training program in 1951, “he challenged everything,“ said retired senior engineer Frederick Jarratt, who worked with him. He rethought the massive structures that the power lines hung on and designed the first single-pole wishbone transmission line. “Single poles were more economical, and it was easy to use them. It was innovative, something that never had been done before. Some of his designs are still in use,“ Jarratt said.

Dominion Virginia Power customers are seeing rates rise to help pay for a new coal-fired generation plant in Southwest Virginia that is facing legal challenges from environmental groups. The company implemented a rate adjustment Jan. 1 that increases bills by $1.53 for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity that customers use. For the average customer, that means an increase of $1.84 per month.