RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Typical Dominion Virginia Power customers could see their bills go up by 50 cents next month thanks to a pilot program that will move some power lines underground.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/2bkpx2L ) that the State Corporation Commission has approved a program which will let Dominion replace 400 miles of overhead lines with underground ones. The company says underground lines will mean fewer outages.

Dominion had proposed a bigger pilot program that would have cost about $263 million, but regulators thought it was too expensive. The one approved by the commission will cost no more than $140 million.

If the pilot program is successful, Dominion may seek to move more power lines underground.

___

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com