RICHMOND, Va. — Concerns about data centers and their potential impact on energy bills have been growing among Central Virginia residents. I took those concerns directly to Dominion Energy to find out if there's any truth to them.
Dominion Energy spokesperson Craig Carper said data centers do not currently have an outside influence on customer energy bills.
Carper said recent bill increases can be attributed to weather and inflation.
A rate increase that went into effect this year also played a role, but Carper said the responsibility for that increase is shared broadly.
"It's proportional. In terms of what people have seen in the past few months, it is not related to data centers," Carper said. "It is related to inflation that applies across the board to 100% of our customers be they a home, a school, a hospital, a grocery store, or a data center. They're all the same."
Carper said the cost of poles, wires, transformers and other physical equipment used to deliver power has gone up, and so has the cost of fuel.
Carper did acknowledge that the rate of growth of data centers is evolving, and said Dominion is working to stay ahead of that expansion before it begins reflecting on monthly bills.
He said that while data centers are not currently increasing monthly payments, that could change if actions aren't taken to ensure charges continue to be distributed equitably.
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission published a study that highlighted the impacts of the data center industry on Virginia. Carper said it uncovered if data centers are paying their fair share.
"They gave a three part response. Data centers have been paying their fair share up to now, they are currently paying their fair share, but, if changes are not made in the future, residential customers will be taking on some of the costs for data centers. We are all trying to keep up to make sure that does not happen," Carper said.
Watch: Virginia mom's nearly $500 heating bill is due next week: 'It's insane'
Carper said solutions are already in place and others are awaiting approval to help regulate usage and costs.
"We've made changes as recent as December that shifted more costs onto data centers and there are changes being proposed in the General Assembly today," Carper said.
One measure already approved: Dominion has created a separate customer class and rate structure specifically for data centers. It's called GS-5.
It requires customers using more than 25 megawatts (25 million watts) to sign a 14-year contract. The average home uses approximately 1,000 kilowatts a month, Dominion says.
Data centers coming into the state must also pay approximately 85% of their projected costs upfront — even if they don't end up using all of it.
The GS-5 rate class will be effective beginning January 1, 2027.
Carper also pointed to a bill currently before the Virginia General Assembly that would immediately drop residential bills by approximately $5.50 and shift that amount to data center bills. Under the proposal, data center rates would increase by approximately 15%, while the average residential customer's rate would drop by approximately 3%.
Carper said Dominion hears the concerns surrounding data centers and that changes are being made to keep rates and monthly bills fair for all customers — keeping pace with the growth of data centers and ensuring they pay their fair share.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
