Dominion Energy wants to increase bills by 15% as customers question if data centers are paying their share

State regulators are debating a proposed 15% electricity rate increase by Dominion Energy, causing public concern over costs driven by data center demand.

VIRGINIA, USA — State regulators are determining how much Virginians will be paying for electricity down the road. That has some residents questioning if they will be paying higher costs because of data centers, which use large amounts of energy.

Dominion Energy has proposed increasing bills by 15%, which would raise the average customer's monthly bill by about $21 within the next two years.

The State Corporation Commission held a public hearing Tuesday afternoon to hear from stakeholders as it considers Dominion Energy’s proposed rate increase.

"Twenty dollars might not seem a lot to the Dominion CEO, but they make over $12 million a year, but for me, that's massive,” said Seattle Ferguson, a Virginia resident.

The commission received more than 2,700 pages of public comments from people worried about rate hikes and data centers.

"The assumption is it's your air-conditioning that's driving peak load, and therefore the size of the system. But with data centers, that goes out the window,” said Christopher Miller, the president of the Piedmont Environmental Council, who is a party in the Dominion Energy rate case hearing.

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