Data center demand surges; what will Dominion do if those projects fall through?

RICHMOND, Va. — Dominion Energy’s latest long-term energy plan projects major investments in new power generation and infrastructure over the next two decades as Virginia’s electricity demand grows, driven in part by data centers.

The company’s Integrated Resource Plan projects that residential customers could see their monthly electric bills increase by more than $100 over the next 20 years.

Watch: Dominion projects electric bills could rise more than 57% over next 20 years

The report factors in a range of future expenses that could affect customer bills, including fuel costs, power generation, transmission infrastructure and environmental compliance.

At the same time, Dominion plans to significantly expand its power system to meet growing electricity demand.

Dominion’s preferred plan includes more than 39 gigawatts of new power generation and storage capacity.

"More than three-fourths of which is carbon-free solar, offshore wind, energy storage and advanced nuclear technology," a Dominion Energy Spokesperson told CBS 6.

The plan carries a total modeled portfolio cost of more than $183 billion, including more than $91 billion in construction investments, according to the report.

“Our plan reinforces the need to expand and diversify our power generation fleet to maintain the reliability of the grid,” a Dominion spokesperson said.

As Virginia’s data center industry continues to expand, some ratepayers have blamed the industry’s growing electricity demand for contributing to higher bills.

Watch: Gov. Spanberger calls for public release of confidential 'Robo Memo' in Dominion-NextEra merger

"The Company has seen unprecedented levels of growth in both the size and number of requests for delivery points in the last several years, including the significant increase in volume and increased size from large-load customers," the filing states.

As of February 2026, approximately 25,000 megawatts of large-load delivery point requests have been received with projected connection dates through December 31, 2031.

"Those requests continue to grow," the filing states.

In a response to CBS 6, Dominion clarified that those requests include prospective data center projects.

Within Dominion’s own retail service territory, the company said about 12,000 megawatts of data center capacity is already under contract.

That raises another question: What happens if some of the anticipated data center projects never materialize after infrastructure has been built to serve them?

Dominion told CBS 6 that residential customers will not be left paying for infrastructure constructed specifically for data centers that ultimately becomes stranded.

The company said new data centers will sign "14-year contracts that require them to pay minimum demand costs, including 85% of their contracted capacity for transmission and distribution and 60% for generation. And the data centers put up collateral – at $1.5 million per megawatt – to ensure those minimum demand charges are paid for the duration of the 14-year contract, even if the data center ceases to operate."

“Those consumer protections ensure that data centers – not residential customers – will pay for any infrastructure that’s stranded,” a Dominion spokesperson told CBS 6.

Dominion also reported that purchases from the regional power market accounted for about 20% to 23% of the energy it served from 2021 through 2025, and the company said its reliance on those purchases continues to grow.

That increased reliance on the power market can affect costs passed along to customers.

"Market purchases will remain an important resource, but increasing dependence on external supply increases customers’ exposure to price volatility, transmission congestion, and the risk that sufficient power may not be available when it is needed most," the filing states. "That risk is particularly acute during extreme weather or other periods of regional stress, when neighboring systems face the same extreme weather or resource constraints and have limited surplus available to export."

Dominion says its preferred long-term plan would add more generation to its own system and reduce its dependence on what the company describes as more costly purchases from the regional power market.

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