State regulators order Dominion to assign more transmission costs to data centers
Virginia's State Corporation Commission has ordered Dominion Energy to develop a policy to directly assign the costs of high-voltage transmission infrastructure to data centers and other large-load users. This decision aims to prevent residential customers from subsidizing power infrastructure built primarily for commercial facilities. The move was supported by the governor's administration and environmental groups.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) has issued an order mandating Dominion Energy to create a policy that directly assigns the cost of high-voltage transmission infrastructure to data centers and other large-load electricity users. This decision aims to alleviate the financial burden on residential customers, who have historically subsidized the power infrastructure built primarily to serve these energy-intensive facilities.
The move was supported by Virginia Governor's Administration officials, who emphasized that data centers should pay their "fair share" and that residential customers should not bear the cost for commercial extensions. Deputy Chief Energy Officer Louise White testified that any network or substation upgrades solely triggered by large-load customers should be directly assigned to them. Environmental groups, including the Piedmont Environmental Council, lauded the decision, highlighting it as an important precedent to protect Virginia families and small businesses from subsidizing data center infrastructure.
The SCC's order comes as Dominion Energy reported 203 transmission projects in its grid connection pipeline. An example cited is the forthcoming 115-mile Valley Link transmission line, intended to deliver power from Lynchburg and Culpeper to Northern Virginia, where a significant concentration of data centers is located. The Governor stated that this order is projected to save Virginians hundreds of millions of dollars and pledged to work with lawmakers to ensure data centers adhere to environmental standards and local community concerns. The exact savings for residential customers and the timeline for the SCC's ruling on the new transmission tariff remain unclear.