utilities

Two weeks after Reston RELAC announced it will cease operations, Lake Anne residents who have relied on the cooling service for decades are still looking for clearer guidance on how to prepare for next summer.

After informing customers, the owners of the utility, known formally as the Reston Lake Anne Air Conditioning Corporation, sent a letter to Reston Association Chief Operating Officer Peter Lusk earlier this month stating that they “will no longer provide chilled water service,” co-owner Mark Waddell said in an Oct. 19 update.

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.

RELAC will live to cool down residents and businesses near Lake Anne in Reston for at least one more summer.

Reston RELAC President Mark Waddell informed customers on Monday (March 31) that he’s in discussions to transfer ownership of the chilled-water cooling system to a contractor in Maryland, enabling operations to continue after a previously planned hand-off fell through.

Hundreds of residents around Lake Anne in Reston are facing new uncertainty over how they will cool down their homes as the weather heats up.

SpringRELAC, a resident-run nonprofit, announced yesterday (Tuesday) that its authority to operate the central air-conditioning system that provides chilled water from the man-made lake to surrounding properties hasn’t been renewed for the 2025 season.