Are data centers raising electricity bills in Virginia?

Virginia's own legislative study (JLARC, Dec 2024) estimated that data-center buildout could raise a typical Dominion residential customer's generation and transmission costs by about $14–$37 a month by 2040. Importantly, JLARC found data centers currently pay their own cost of service — the issue is that the sheer scale of new power infrastructure being built raises baseline costs for everyone.

How much of Virginia's electricity do data centers use?

About 24% of Dominion Energy Virginia's electricity sales went to data centers as of year-end 2023 (up from 21% in 2022) — and that share is climbing. Northern Virginia is the world's largest data-center market, 13% of global capacity.

Did my own electricity use go up?

Almost certainly not. Virginia residential usage has been essentially flat (up about 2% from 2020 to 2025), while the average residential rate rose 27%. You're not using more — the cost of running the grid around you went up, and data-center demand is a big reason why.

Will it get worse — what's the 'second wave'?

Likely, though the size is debated. JLARC projects Virginia's power demand could double within about a decade if unconstrained, and Dominion's contracted data-center queue jumped from 21 GW (July 2024) to 40 GW (Dec 2024). Dominion's forecast is contested — a 2026 Virginia law now mandates independent review of it — so treat the doubling as a projection, not a certainty.

Independent · sourced data

Are Virginia's data centers raising your electric bill?

Short answer: not your usage — the system around you. Northern Virginia is the largest data-center market on Earth, its electricity appetite is exploding, and the cost of building the grid to feed it is landing on everyone's rate. Here's the real data — including what Virginia's own state study says is coming for your bill.

What grew in Virginia, 2020 → 2025

Loudoun data-center footprint +146%

permitted floor space, 21.5M → 53M sq ft

Your VA residential rate +27%

12.03¢ → 15.28¢ per kWh

Your household usage +2%

VA residential kWh — essentially flat

Data centers exploded. Your rate climbed. Your own usage barely moved.

How big is it, really?

Northern Virginia holds about 13% of the world's data-center capacity — the single largest concentration anywhere (JLARC). In Loudoun County's "Data Center Alley," permitted data-center floor space has more than doubled in five years, and the county's data-center power draw jumped from ~1 GW (2018) to ~3.4 GW (2023). Data centers now take about 24% of Dominion Energy Virginia's electricity (year-end 2023).

Loudoun data-center footprint (permitted floor space, million sq ft)

2016

8.8M

2020

21.5M

2023

31.9M

2024

41.2M

2025

53M

Source: Loudoun County Economic Development.

The second wave that's coming

This isn't slowing down. Virginia's legislative study (JLARC) projects the state's power demand could double within about a decade if unconstrained, with data centers the main driver — what Dominion has called the largest demand growth since World War II. Dominion's contracted data-center queue leapt from 21 GW (July 2024) to 40 GW (Dec 2024), an 88% jump. Virginia's peak demand already rose 45% in winter and 23% in summer from 2019 to 2025 (EIA).

Worth being precise: Dominion's load forecast is contested — the Piedmont Environmental Council and energy analysts argue it's overstated, and a 2026 Virginia law now mandates an independent review. So treat the "demand doubling" as a projection, not a certainty.

What it means for your bill — honestly

Virginia's own study put a number on it: a typical Dominion residential customer's generation and transmission costs could rise an estimated $14–$37 a month by 2040, driven by the data-center buildout (JLARC, a modeled estimate).

Here's the honest nuance most coverage skips: JLARC's independent rate study found data centers currently pay their own cost of service — they aren't free-riding under today's rates. The problem is scale. Serving this much new demand means building enormous new generation and transmission that wouldn't otherwise exist, and those system costs put upward pressure on rates for everyone, households included. How much actually lands on you depends on how regulators structure who pays — which is exactly what's being fought over now.

The direct line to your PJM capacity charge

If you've seen the regional capacity-cost story, this is the source of it. PJM's own Independent Market Monitor attributed 40% of the cost of the latest capacity auction ($6.5 billion of $16.4 billion) to data-center demand. The Dominion zone cleared at $444.26/MW-day — far above the rest of the grid — and that flows into bills across all the states we cover.

See the 2025–26 rate increases and the PJM capacity spike →

What you can do about your own bill

Is your bill too high? — compare it to your state's average and see if it's usage or rate.
Run the free bill audit — check whether a supplier is overcharging you (the one piece you control).
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Common questions

Are data centers raising electricity bills in Virginia?: Virginia's own legislative study (JLARC, Dec 2024) estimated that data-center buildout could raise a typical Dominion residential customer's generation and transmission costs by about $14–$37 a month by 2040. Importantly, JLARC found data centers currently pay their own cost of service — the issue is that the sheer scale of new power infrastructure being built raises baseline costs for everyone.
How much of Virginia's electricity do data centers use?: About 24% of Dominion Energy Virginia's electricity sales went to data centers as of year-end 2023 (up from 21% in 2022) — and that share is climbing. Northern Virginia is the world's largest data-center market, 13% of global capacity.
Did my own electricity use go up?: Almost certainly not. Virginia residential usage has been essentially flat (up about 2% from 2020 to 2025), while the average residential rate rose 27%. You're not using more — the cost of running the grid around you went up, and data-center demand is a big reason why.
Will it get worse — what's the 'second wave'?: Likely, though the size is debated. JLARC projects Virginia's power demand could double within about a decade if unconstrained, and Dominion's contracted data-center queue jumped from 21 GW (July 2024) to 40 GW (Dec 2024). Dominion's forecast is contested — a 2026 Virginia law now mandates independent review of it — so treat the doubling as a projection, not a certainty.
What does this have to do with my PJM capacity charge?: Directly. PJM's own Independent Market Monitor attributed 40% of the cost of the latest regional capacity auction ($6.5 billion of $16.4 billion) to data-center demand. The Dominion zone cleared at $444.26/MW-day, well above the rest of PJM. That capacity cost flows into bills across the region.

The same story is reshaping bills in other states we cover:

Pennsylvania data centers & your bill → Ohio data centers & your bill → Maryland data centers & your bill → Illinois data centers & your bill →

Sources

Last reviewed June 19, 2026. Verified facts and modeled projections are distinguished in the text; demand-growth forecasts are projections (and contested). General consumer information, not financial advice. RateWatchdog is independent and takes no supplier commissions.