Reston RELAC is dead again, and this time, a resurrection might not be on the table.
Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning, the utility that provides cooling services for most Lake Anne residents, discontinued operations last Thursday (Oct. 9) following a trying summer where mechanical issues led to reported temperatures of 85 degrees and higher in some homes.
“Rising operating costs, aging infrastructure, and a decline in participation have made it impossible to sustain the utility in a reliable, safe, and financially responsible way,” RELAC owners Mike Coleman, Craig Nyman and Mark Waddell told customers when announcing their decision to halt services last week.
As an indication of RELAC being increasingly rejected by residents, the owners pointed to the number of customers seeking a medical exemption from Reston Association, whose deed prohibits residents with access to the central air conditioning service from installing individual units unless they have health complications.
For the 2025 cooling season, exemptions were granted to 89 households — about a quarter of RELAC’s customer base, the owners said. The system had served 343 townhomes, 258 condominiums and 25 commercial units, according to RA.
“It has been our privilege — Mark, Mike, Craig and Lamont — to oversee our community cooling system since 2013,” RELAC’s owners said. “We are deeply grateful to each of you for trusting us with your air conditioning service for the last 13 years, and we share in your disappointment that the system’s end has come.”
However, what RELAC’s end means for the hundreds of residents who rely on its chilled water services is unclear.
While the owners suggested that customers “secure a qualified HVAC contractor as soon as possible,” RA has indicated in the past that a repeal of the provision in the Reston Deed banning individual air conditioning units is required.
Past referendums have failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed to revoke the restriction. The most recent vote was held in March 2024 after RELAC announced the previous December that it would stop operations due to increased costs and customers not paying their bills.
The cooling system was revived in time for summer 2024 as springRELAC, a new nonprofit led by local resident Simon McKeown and supported by community donations.
But McKeown’s unexpected death in December 2024 upended plans to establish springRELAC as a co-op that could manage the utility long-term.
Waddell, who served as president of RELAC, was working to transfer ownership to Innovative Mechanical Systems, a Maryland-based contractor that managed operations during this past summer.
In the end, though, the utility is financially “just not viable,” especially with the number of exceptions being granted by RA, and the prospective new owner backed out, Waddell told FFXnow.
While fall temperatures are now setting in, RA staff will meet this week to determine how to handle the Reston Deed’s provisions regarding air conditioning for properties served by RELAC, according to spokesperson Cara O’Donnell.
“We are keenly aware of the situation with RELAC service and the issues over the last few years with providing chilled water to the members of the Association on the RELAC service,” RA said in a statement. “The Association is taking this matter very seriously, and we are exploring all options for our membership.”
