York and James City counties are adopting new rules to regulate data centers and ensure they have enough guaranteed electric power – an issue that has become a statewide concern as power-hungry data centers pop up everywhere.
But we consumers are also demanding more power, and the cost to supply it will mean higher electricity rates, a spokesperson for Dominion Energy told us.
Dominion Energy, facing the fastest growth in electric demand in 75 years, is proposing to set up data centers as a separate customer group and require them to commit to paying for at least 14 years of electricity, whether they use it or not, the spokesperson said.
The plan, which the State Corporation Commission must approve later this year, is to make sure data centers pay their fair share of what it will cost to supply them without impacting consumer rates.
Virginia is the largest data center market in the world, and these centers have doubled their demand for electricity over the…