FINALLY politicians have decided they better start listening to their constituents if they want to remain in office. The only concern I have is " the SCC is ordering Dominion to develop a policy that requires data centers to pay for the upgrades if new substations and transmission lines are used exclusively for data centers. " So if an existing substation that is supplying power to data centers, other businesses, schools and residents is upgraded that cost can be applied to all customers not just the data centers? And will the same be true for additional transmission lines? If so that seems it will be an easy out for data centers to not pay the full cost for upgrades. Governor Spanberger should also order the SCC to work out options for Dominion to refund at least half if not all the rate increases without granting them any kind of tax break to cover the refunds. We need to keep up the pressure on Gov Spanberger, the Virginia legislators and the SCC on all these issues. This from WSET ABC13 News in Lynchburg, VA.....
Data centers in Virginia ordered to pay for transmission upgrades
by Nick Minock
ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — Virginia state regulators ordered data centers to cover the cost of power grid upgrades for the growing data center industry.
This new development comes after Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration got involved.
Governor Spanberger’s administration sent a letter to regulators urging them to require data centers to shoulder the costs of transmission line upgrades, so Virginians don’t have to.
Dominion Energy has over 200 transmission line projects in the works to upgrade Virginia’s power infrastructure and meet the demands of the more than 600 power-hungry data centers.
To pay for the upgrades, Dominion asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) in Richmond to allow the utility company to increase your electricity bill each month.
But now, the SCC is ordering Dominion to develop a policy that requires data centers to pay for the upgrades if new substations and transmission lines are used exclusively for data centers.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger celebrated the SCC’s new order.
“I am proud that after my administration urged state regulators to protect Virginia families and small businesses from shouldering the cost of new transmission infrastructure meant to serve data centers, the SCC listened,” said Governor Spanberger. “This order — which is projected to save Virginians hundreds of millions of dollars — makes sure that data centers are paying the full cost of the transmission infrastructure their developments require.”
“It is hard to understate the importance of this decision from the SCC for Virginia families and businesses,” said Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond. “Instead of spreading transmission costs caused directly by data centers across all ratepayers, now data centers will pay for those costs directly. The Spanberger Administration remains laser-focused on ensuring data centers are paying their fair share and commends the Commission for this vanguard decision.”
On Wednesday, 7News reached out to Dominion Energy for the company’s response to this new development.
Right now, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers are urging the governor to call a special session to address Virginia’s energy needs and Dominion Energy’s proposed merger with NextEra.
Lt. Gov. Hashmi wants regulators at the SCC to take twice as long as they typically do to review the Dominion-NextEra merger to ensure critical questions are answered.
“What is the public benefit of this acquisition?” asked Hashmi. “What does it mean for us as consumers here in Virginia? What does it mean for the reliability of our grid? What does it mean for our ability to meet the growing demands of energy that we have in Virginia? So changing the lens of focus, the standards by which we go through this process, I think, is really important.”
Hashmi says the current regulatory standards the SCC considers need updating for proposals like this.
“Our regulatory guidelines were written essentially in 1940,” said Hashmi. “So if you think about the vast contrast between 1940 electric utility structures and what we are facing today in 2026, it's a century of difference.”
Dominion Energy told 7News on Wednesday that "Under the SCC’s oversight, we already have among the strongest protections in the country to prevent data center driven costs from being borne by our residential customers. When we file our amended line extension policy, we will be adding even more protections for our residential customers to ensure our more energy intensive customers continue to pay their fair share."
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