Rising energy prices are a common point of frustration for many Hampton Roads residents, with Dominion Energy customers saying their bills have been much larger than expected this year.
Dominion Energy notified customers in Nov. 2025 about a rate increase that will appear on monthly bills in 2026 — an average monthly bill increase of $11.24, with another bump of about $2.36 in 2027, after the State Corporation Commission approved the company’s request.
Watch previous coverage: Dominion Energy's monthly price hike approved by state commission for 2026
Dominion Energy's requested price hike was initially proposed to be approximately $14.73.
These price hikes will result in Dominion Energy receiving a base rate revenue increase of around $565.7 million for 2026 and an increase of $209.9 million for 2027 — something the SCC called "just and reasonable."
For local families already juggling rising expenses, any increase feels significant. WTKR News 3 spoke with Virginia Beach resident Antoinette Faltz-McQueen after news broke about this rate increase.
Watch previous coverage: Dominion Energy bills to increase $11.24 monthly for Hampton Roads customers starting in 2026
"I don't think they're thinking about the mom with four kids... I'm still having to pinch pennies to make sure not only can I pay my energy, but my other bills as well," Faltz-McQueen said. "Do I need to get a third and fourth job?"
In its press release announcing the monthly rate increase, Dominion Energy said the hikes were tied to fuel costs and infrastructure upgrades.
However, the winter months that followed ended up being some of the coldest in years, Utibe Bassey, Dominion's Vice President of Customer Experience, told News 3 on Monday.
Bassey came to Virginia Beach from her office in Richmond in response to the growing number of complaints about high bills. She told News 3's Anthony Sabella that furnaces had to work a lot harder to heat homes and coupled with higher rates and fuel costs is leading some to have shockingly high bills.
She says customers with concerns should call Dominion Energy or message on the utility's app to work on ways to pay down the bill. She says there are several assistance plans:
- Budget Billing: Takes your yearly total energy costs and splits them 12 ways so it averages out and there are major fluctuations.
- Energy Share: Offers up to $600 in yearly assistance for home heating and $300 in cooling assistance.
"And it’s not income-based, so anyone may qualify for Energy Share and that’s available for customers, and those who also get Energy Share also can take advantage of some home weatherization programs to find ways to make their homes more energy efficient as well," said Bassey.
Meanwhile, concerns about data centers and their potential impact on energy bills have also been growing. WTKR News 3's sister station, WTVR News 6, sat down with a Dominion Energy spokesperson to find out if there's any truth to them.
Watch previous coverage: Dominion Energy responds to questions about data centers and your energy bill
Dominion Energy spokesperson Craig Carper said data centers do not currently have an outside influence on customer energy bills, instead pointing to weather and inflation as the reasons for the increase.
"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.
"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, referencing a study published by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.
Dominion did 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 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.
Bassey adds that the utility is heavily regulated by the state to ensure rates aren't more than they need to be.
“We work very closely with these bodies to make sure the things that we do, the rates that we set, all of those things make sense for us in our ability to deliver power, but also are in the best interest of the customer," she told News 3.
