 Meanwhile, locals will have their say starting 2 p.m. today at the Hereford Volunteer Fire Company Hall as construction is close to starting on a major power system upgrade through three counties. It's a week where the heat is straining the power grid as it is. The state's population is likely to expand while a push for electric vehicles gets rolling. For the future, the PJM Power Consortium has allotted hundreds of millions of dollars for the 70-mile Piedmont Reliability Projects.