This text was taken from an email alert sent out on April 4, 2025. Sign up for email alerts ➝
Dear Supporter,
I’m writing to you today to tell you about a critical opportunity to weigh in on fair energy prices and a sustainable future for Virginia.
Right now, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) is reviewing Dominion Energy’s proposed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a document that shapes the long-range direction for Virginia’s energy future and is updated periodically. However, Dominion’s current proposed plan is based on an outrageous energy forecast driven by the company’s individual contracts with data center developers—which are not subject to state oversight. These contracts promise a power supply far beyond what is available on the grid and set an in-service date, which together will require vast amounts of new energy infrastructure. Essentially, Dominion is creating a “crisis by contract” here in Virginia.
Virginia requires Dominion to put forward an IRP that outlines strategies for meeting future energy demand in a reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible manner. Instead, the IRP being considered now is driven by this “crisis by contract” that could double Virginia’s peak energy demand over the next 15 years and cost more than $100 billion.
To meet this growth, the IRP places an unfair and disproportionate financial burden on Virginia residents and small businesses in favor of the financial gains of Big Tech companies. The plan offers an “all of the above” approach that includes the build-out of new solar, wind, gas, and nuclear energy facilities, as well as new high-voltage transmission lines and substations, and an increase in imported energy from other states. The plan fails to ensure reasonable prices, reliable service and environmental best practices.
Despite bipartisan efforts to safeguard the interests of ratepayers and rein in environmental impacts, the General Assembly failed to pass meaningful data center reform legislation during its 2025 session. Now, all eyes are on the SCC to ask tough questions of Dominion. We need the SCC to demand a reasonable and balanced plan that pushes back the in-service dates set in those contracts, while simultaneously protecting Virginians against the risk of reduced energy reliability and increased energy costs that will inevitably arise from the power demands of data centers.
A Chance to Weigh In:
The SCC has scheduled a public witness session on Monday, April 14 in Richmond for people to provide comments via phone (pre-registration is required). They are also accepting written public comments through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8.
Now is the time to make your voice heard.
Why You Should Speak Up
- Rising Energy Costs: Under current policies, residential customers and small businesses could end up paying for much of the costly infrastructure needed to support data centers. The Dominion IRP shows that this could lead to a doubling of electricity bills.
- Grid Reliability at Risk: Dominion has signed contracts for more than double the current peak load in a completely unreasonable timeline, putting the grid’s reliability in jeopardy as it races to build the infrastructure.
- Environmental Consequences: Dominion’s IRP glosses over projected environmental impacts. Water supplies are in danger because Dominion Energy and Big Tech are able to hide the impact of the billions of gallons of water they will draw from Virginia aquifers and rivers. The IRP also calls for new gas generation facilities, expanded nuclear power, new transmission lines, and increased import of power from places like West Virginia that source from heavily polluting coal facilities. And when the grid fails for any reason, data centers start back up diesel generators by the hundreds, polluting the area with particulate matter and nitrogen oxides that are harmful to the health of humans and animals.
Acknowledging the looming energy problems, the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study on the data center industry in Virginia described this level of demand as “difficult to very difficult” to meet.
Read more in our recent press release →
How to Submit Your Comments
> Provide Oral Testimony Via Phone During the April 14 Public Witness Session: Pre-register by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8
Each pre-registered witness will have five minutes to speak during the hearing. The hearing will be webcast on the SCC’s website.
1. Online: Complete the public witness form for case number PUR-2024-00184 on the SCC’s website: https://www.scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting
2. Email: Send the completed public witness form (PDF available on the SCC website) to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov
3. Phone: Call the SCC at 804-371-9141 during business hours and provide your name and phone number.
> Submit Written Comments: Due by Tuesday, April 8
1. Online at: https://scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments
Select “Cases” → “Submit Public Comments” → Scroll to case number PUR-2024-00184 → Click SUBMIT COMMENTS
2. By Mail to:Clerk of the State Corporation Commission
c/o Document Control Center
P.O. Box 2118
Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118
Attn: PUR-2024-00184
More information about weighing on on this case →
Sample Comments
Dear State Corporation Commission,
I’m writing to urge you to reject Dominion Energy’s deeply flawed Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), case number PUR-2024-00184. This plan fails to deliver what Virginia needs: reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible energy planning.
Dominion’s proposed IRP is built on an unsustainable and unreasonable energy demand forecast—one that is largely driven by private, unregulated contracts with data center developers. These contracts promise far more energy than is currently available on the grid and are pushing Virginia toward an energy infrastructure crisis of unprecedented scale and cost.
The plan would double our peak energy demand in just 15 years, with a price tag exceeding $100 billion—costs that will be partially borne by Virginia’s residents and small businesses.
Additionally, Dominion’s IRP glosses over the serious environmental and reliability risks it creates. It calls for expanded fossil fuel infrastructure, unsustainable water usage, and leaves communities vulnerable to increased pollution from diesel generators when the grid can’t keep up.
It is unacceptable that a private utility’s deals with Big Tech could so dramatically reshape Virginia’s future without adequate public oversight. I strongly urge the SCC to reject Dominion’s current plan and demand a revised IRP that:
- Bases demand forecasts on transparent, state-regulated planning—not on private contracts.
- Pushes back unreasonable in-service dates set by data center agreements.
- Prioritizes affordability, grid reliability, and environmental protection for all Virginians.
Thank you for your service and for considering my comments.
The SCC Must Take Action
Virginia policymakers have failed to take action, and now it’s up to the State Corporation Commission to do what’s within its power to mitigate impacts of the data center industry. Let’s demand a fair, sustainable and responsible energy future for Virginia.
Submit your comments today and urge the SCC to demand a reasonable and balanced plan that doesn’t blindly accept Dominion’s “crisis by contract” forecast based on contracts negotiated behind closed doors. Ask the SCC to demand that this energy need be met in a reasonable manner that protects the rest of the ratepayers from reduced reliability and increased energy costs and protects the state’s environmental resources and the climate.
Your voice matters. Help shape Virginia’s energy future by submitting comments or signing up to speak by the April 8 deadline.
Sincerely,
Julie Bolthouse
Director of Land Use
jbolthouse@pecva.org
