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Last Update: 10/27/2026 at 5:34 AM EST
Virginia Data Centers and the Power Grid
Coverage from The Piedmont Environmental Council, NOTUS, and others
Virginia’s data-center growth is creating demand for transmission lines, substations, and other electricity-system upgrades, raising questions about capacity, planning, and who should bear the costs.
Dominion Energy’s rate proceedings and the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s cost-allocation decisions bring those questions into focus: infrastructure built for large users may be assigned directly to them, while some reliability costs can affect the broader system. The proposed Valley Link line, planned between Lynchburg and Northern Virginia by way of Culpeper, illustrates how a major transmission project can intersect with data-center demand and ratepayer policy.
Looking Back
128 Day Timeline
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All Articles36 articles
Important
Piedmont Environmental Council is opposing data-center-driven transmission expansion in Virginia as Valley Link prepares a Joshua Falls-Yeat filing for November or December.
10/12/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia residents and environmental groups are opposing Valley Link, Valley North, and related generation projects that would supply Northern Virginia data centers across multiple counties.
8/21/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Dominion Energy projects a large Virginia data center queue while grid access delays drive behind-the-meter gas and backup power proposals amid state and local policy debate.
7/20/2026 • Permitting & Regulation • General
Virginia's SCC will decide by August 1 whether Dominion Energy can change transmission cost allocation so data centers pay for lines serving exclusive load.
7/15/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Dominion Energy faces higher fuel costs and wholesale-market exposure from Virginia data center growth, potentially increasing residential electricity bills across PJM-served Virginia.
8/11/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission directed Dominion Energy to develop a tariff assigning data center-driven transmission costs to large-load customers across Virginia.
8/10/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy to develop a transmission tariff assigning data-center-related grid costs to large-load customers across Virginia.
8/8/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
In Virginia, grid congestion from data center demand has spurred the Valley Link transmission proposal and a 1.1-cent-per-kilowatt-hour electricity tax to address utility upgrade costs.
7/19/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered data centers to pay for dedicated substations and transmission lines after state officials sought protection for electricity ratepayers.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
PJM, Dominion Energy, and Virginia regulators responded in 2025 to near-record heat-driven demand by preparing backup generation, expanding infrastructure planning, and assigning more costs to large data center customers.
8/30/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy on August 10, 2026, to assign dedicated transmission costs to data centers and other large-load users statewide.
8/10/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ruled that data centers must fund dedicated transmission lines and grid infrastructure, reducing potential costs for residential customers statewide.
8/6/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission approved on July 31 a transmission rate change shifting more data-center infrastructure costs to large customers in Richmond, Virginia.
8/6/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission on Wednesday directed utilities to charge data centers for dedicated transmission projects, potentially reducing costs for other customers statewide.
8/6/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy to develop a policy assigning data-center-related transmission costs directly to large-load customers across Virginia.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
The Virginia State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy on July 31 in Virginia to develop rules requiring data centers and other large-load customers to fund dedicated transmission infrastructure.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy to develop a transmission tariff directly charging data centers and other large-load customers for infrastructure triggered by new connections.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Amazon asked the Virginia State Corporation Commission during Dominion Energy Virginia's Rider T1 hearings to let hyperscale data centers fund transmission upgrades for their campuses.
7/29/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia State Corporation Commission officials held testimony on Dominion Energy Rider T-1, debating whether households or large data center loads pay for transmission upgrades.
7/19/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Dominion Energy transmission rider T-1 faces a Virginia State Corporation Commission hearing, as regulators decide how to allocate grid upgrade costs driven by Northern Virginia data centers.
7/16/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia regulators assess a but-for transmission cost-allocation approach for Dominion data center load, with a ruling on a $1.5 billion rate rider due by Aug. 1.
7/16/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Spanberger’s administration, through a State Corporation Commission filing, urged Virginia to change Dominion Rider T-1 so data centers pay transmission upgrade costs.
7/13/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
The Virginia State Corporation Commission ordered Dominion Energy to assign certain direct-connect transmission costs to large-load facilities, and Microsoft preserved a potential appeal in Virginia on August 28.
9/18/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia SCC testimony in 2026 focused on Dominion Energy Rider T-1 transmission cost recovery methods tied to data center load growth, with a decision due August 1, 2026.
7/15/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Interesting
Virginia data center growth is increasing projected grid demand and household cost concerns, while South Fork Wind demonstrated renewable support during New York's June 2025 emergency.
9/20/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Wednesday that the State Corporation Commission ordered data centers in Virginia to pay for transmission infrastructure built exclusively for their facilities.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered data centers and other large-load customers to pay for dedicated transmission infrastructure in Virginia, following advocacy from Governor Abigail Spanberger's administration.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
Virginia's State Corporation Commission ordered data centers to pay dedicated transmission infrastructure costs in Richmond after Governor Abigail Spanberger's administration sought protection for other ratepayers.
8/5/2026 • Power Procurement & Grid • General
On August 6, 2026, SVEC President Greg Rogers said the Virginia cooperative will require prospective Shenandoah Valley data centers to fund dedicated infrastructure and protect existing members.
8/10/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Ohio and Virginia adopted large-data-center tariffs requiring qualifying facilities to pay for long-term reserved grid capacity and related infrastructure.
8/3/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Virginia data center growth is driving projected load increases and infrastructure costs, while South Fork Wind supported New York during a June 2025 grid emergency.
9/17/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger formally intervened Thursday in proceedings over NextEra Energy's proposed $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, citing data center-related consumer, infrastructure, and environmental concerns.
8/7/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Henrico County, Virginia, under County Manager John Vithoulkas, issued electricity-use reduction guidance after a new municipal contract raised power rates nearly 25% starting July 1.
7/1/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Additional
Virginia, especially Northern Virginia around Loudoun and Henrico near Richmond, is highlighted as a major Northeast data center cluster near substations and gas infrastructure.
6/29/2026 • Market Demand & Investment • General
Dominion Energy reported stronger second-quarter results in Virginia as contracted data center capacity reached nearly 53.8 gigawatts and drove electricity demand and grid spending.
7/31/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General
Analysts and local residents in Virginia and West Virginia describe Northern Virginia data center demand and coal-centric utility planning as key factors behind rising electricity costs.
6/7/2026 • Policy & Utility Planning • General