CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Residents across Central Virginia say they are struggling to keep up with the increased cost of living, specifically when it comes to their power bills.
"If it keeps going up like this, I'm not sure what I'm going to do, because my wages aren't rising, but my bills keep rising," Page Schalow said.
Many are still recovering from an expensive winter where power bills were doubling or tripling in amount.
"Is this what we are going to be looking at for the rest of the year and from now on out? If it is, there's going to be a lot of elderly people that can't afford it," Deborah Stroud said.
As the summer approaches, bills are expected to increase $22 per month.
Dominion Energy projects customers will owe over $1 billion in unrecovered fuel costs, not only due to the rising price of fuel, but because of the long winter storm Virginia experienced at the beginning of this year.
Normally, Dominion would start collecting that on July 1, which would cost a typical resident using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month an extra $22 on their monthly bill until June 30, 2027.
But Dominion is looking to lower that monthly cost.
In a filing on May 1 to the State Corporation Commission, Dominion is asking for a financing plan.
Dominion spokesperson Craig Carper says starting July 1, residents would see an increase of about $8 per month. Then, in early 2027, customers would start paying an additional $2 a month.
That means instead of increasing bills by $22, customers would be paying an extra $10 per month for the next 10 years.
We are still trying to understand from Dominion Energy why there is a total amount difference between the two plans, where customers would be paying less than $300 over 12 months versus $1,200 over 10 years.
Carper says it will be a while before the SCC decides on this filing.
Back in 2023, Dominion requested a similar plan that the SCC did end up approving.
Whether or not the SCC approves this financing plan, customers can expect their bills to increase starting this summer.
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