For households served by Dominion Energy Virginia, an electricity bill depends on more than the power used at home. It also depends on how the cost of the grid is divided among customers. As demand from data centers grows, residents deserve to understand that division.
The State Corporation Commission has already approved important protections. Virginia should now make their implementation visible through a regular public account of infrastructure costs, demand forecasts, and the amounts assigned to each customer class. That would help residents judge whether the rules work as intended.
The commission’s September explanation of its Rider T1 decision shows why allocation matters. It says an amended method would reduce a projected monthly increase in transmission-related costs for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours from $2.90 to 94 cents. That comparison concerns one projected component of the bill, not a reduction in the household’s total electricity bill.
The approved method incorporates a forecast adjustment for rapidly growing large-load demand and a previously approved minimum transmission demand charge beginning Jan. 1, 2027. It recognizes that a system expanding to serve new demand needs an allocation method that can account for that growth.
A separate protection concerns facilities built to connect a particular customer. The commission has approved a framework for assigning direct-connect transmission costs to large-load customers where those facilities would not otherwise be built. Its September explanation says the details require amendments to Dominion’s line-extension policy in a supplemental proceeding.
These are related but distinct decisions. A dedicated connection can be associated with the customer that requires it. The cost of a shared transmission network needs a method for allocating responsibility across customers. Paying for a connection therefore does not settle every question about the cost of serving rapidly expanding demand.
The new GS-5 rate schedule adds another layer. Under the commission’s November 2025 final order, it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The class covers customers meeting both a demand threshold of at least 25 megawatts on a contiguous site and a load factor of at least 75 percent, a measure of sustained electricity use. It is broader than a category defined solely by the name “data center.”
The order also approves minimum charges tied to contracted demand: 85 percent for distribution and transmission and 60 percent for generation, with specified exemptions. A 14-year contract obligation applies to customers taking initial service and signing an agreement on or after Jan. 1, 2027. These approved future rules should be assessed according to their actual coverage.
The public account should connect those provisions to the costs they are intended to recover. It could distinguish dedicated facilities from shared investments, identify the allocation method used for each, and explain how minimum charges enter the calculation. Commercially sensitive information can be protected while aggregate costs and assumptions remain available for scrutiny.
Demand forecasts also need a visible record. Regulators should be able to compare anticipated demand with what subsequently develops and explain significant changes. If expected demand arrives more slowly, the public should see how that affects cost allocation and the recovery of infrastructure already built. If growth exceeds expectations, the same account should explain the implications.
This would build on the commission’s work. The final order already requires information on the continued implementation of the new customer class in future biennial reviews. A concise explanation for households would make the financial significance of that evidence easier to follow.
Virginia has put meaningful rules in place. The next test is whether residents can follow the money from an investment decision through cost allocation to their bills. A public account of that process would make consumer protection easier to verify and economic growth easier to evaluate.
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