In the pre-dawn hours in a Haymarket parking lot, a few dozen people huddled in record cold temperatures as they made their way to the warm glow of a charter bus. Their destination: Richmond. Their mission: convince legislators to enact data center reform during the 2025 General Assembly session.
general assembly
General Assembly Update – Spring 2025
Every day, Piedmont Environmental Council staff engage at the local, state and federal level to shape public policy with an eye toward protecting natural resources and advancing sustainability. These efforts include the annual Virginia General Assembly, which convened on Jan. 8 for a short session during which legislators introduced and considered over 2,000 pieces of legislation.
Virginia citizens and businesses have opportunity to weigh in with the SCC on data centers and the long term impact on their energy costs
The General Assembly failed to pass meaningful data center reform, despite the introduction of bi-partisan bills to rein in data center impacts and protect Virginia ratepayers from increased energy costs. Now, all eyes are on the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), a state agency that has regulatory jurisdiction over our utilities.