Spanberger: Data centers should pay for major power infrastructure they require
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger stated that data centers should bear the full cost of the major electrical transmission infrastructure they require, rather than relying on ratepayers. This discussion follows a State Corporation Commission ruling that increased data centers' responsibility for direct connection costs, but a distinction remains for larger bulk transmission projects like Valley Link, which are still partly shared by customers. Governor Spanberger also declined to impose a statewide moratorium on new data center developments, deferring such decisions to local governments.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has stated that data centers should be responsible for the full cost of the major electrical transmission infrastructure they necessitate. This comes amid concerns that Virginia ratepayers are currently subsidizing the construction of high-voltage transmission lines driven by the state's burgeoning data center industry, with the Governor's chief energy officer indicating a potential increase in electric bills for the next two decades.
7News reporter Nick Minock questioned Governor Spanberger about the financial responsibility for large-scale projects like Valley Link, which proposes two 765-kilovolt transmission lines spanning nearly 400 miles across multiple Virginia counties, including Culpeper, Orange, Clarke, Frederick, and Loudoun, as well as parts of West Virginia and Maryland. While the State Corporation Commission (SCC) recently ruled that data centers must cover costs for transmission infrastructure directly connecting them to the grid, Dominion Energy, the utility proposing Valley Link, clarified that this ruling does not apply to larger bulk transmission projects like Valley Link.
Energy policy analyst Savannah Wilson of Clean Virginia emphasized that despite the SCC ruling, customers continue to share the costs of major transmission projects largely spurred by data center growth. Dominion Energy maintains that these projects are vital for regional reliability amidst rapidly increasing electricity demand, attributing this growth to data centers, population increases, electrification, and broader economic development.
Governor Spanberger reiterated her stance that data centers should fund their required backbone infrastructure but declined to intervene in the proposed transmission line projects. She also confirmed that she would not be implementing a statewide moratorium on new data centers, asserting that approval decisions for such developments should remain at the local government level.