ICYMI: Governor Spanberger Calls on Data Centers to Pay for New Transmission Infrastructure, Protect Virginians from Higher Costs

RICHMOND, VA - Governor Abigail Spanberger last week urged state regulators to make sure data centers cover the cost of new transmission infrastructure required by those facilities - and protect families, small businesses, and other ratepayers from shouldering the cost of these projects.

Since taking office in January, Governor Spanberger has remained laser-focused on making energy more affordable for Virginians and listening to the needs of local communities. The Governor signed Virginia's first-of-its-kind energy consumption tax on data centers and new laws enforcing stricter requirements on backup generators and giving local leaders more tools to assess the impacts of data centers.

Read below for coverage from across the Commonwealth of Governor Spanberger's focus on protecting Virginians from higher costs:

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Inside Climate News: Virginia's Governor Weighs in on Pivotal Case About Data Center Transmission Costs

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, through a filing submitted by her newly appointed chief energy officer, is urging regulators at the State Corporation Commission to assign costs of transmission projects driven by data center needs to those facilities.

The governor's involvement in an electricity utility case is unusual. Agencies under the purview of the governor, including the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, are regularly involved with cases, but it's rare for the governor to get involved directly.

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"It is a core policy of the Administration of Governor Abigail Spanberger… to foster an affordable, reliable and clean energy system," Josephus Allmond, the chief energy officer, wrote in the filing. "This includes strong support for proactive, right sized, and cost-effective transmission development."

Cardinal News: General Assembly members back Spanberger's appeal to SCC regarding data center transmission costs

A group of Democratic bicameral lawmakers in the General Assembly sent a letter to the State Corporation Commission on Thursday in support of Gov. Abigail Spanberger's effort to urge regulators to assign costs of energy transmission projects driven by data center needs to those facilities.

Inside Climate News first reported Spanberger's effort on Monday. Spanberger's chief energy officer, Josephus Allmond, submitted a filing to the SCC on July 9 to urge the commission to require data centers pay for the energy transmission projects.

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"We agree with the Governor's office that in addition to the safeguards already enacted, these projects should be managed in more cost-effective and efficient ways, and in ways that ensure the profiting industry is responsible for their costs, rather than ratepayers. We also echo the Administration's call to analyze best practice and cost-effective transmission planning so that moving forward, we more adequately protect ratepayers," the lawmakers wrote.

FOX5 [Washington, DC]: Governor Spanberger wants data centers to pay for new power lines

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger says data centers should foot the bill for new transmission lines. This is in a new filing.

The Governor also urging state regulators to help outline who should pay for the upgrades. Usually, infrastructure changes are passed on to homeowners and their electric bills, but Spanberger says she wants to prevent that from happening.

WUSA9 [Washington, DC]: Who pays for data center power lines? Virginia hearing could change the answer

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Under the current system, the cost of new transmission projects is allocated across all of Dominion's customer classes - including residential customers and small businesses.

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PEC, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative and the SCC's own staff are urging the commission to adopt what's known as a "but-for" test: if a transmission line would never have been built but for the data center it serves, the data center should pay the entire cost - upfront, through what's called a contribution in aid of construction, so the expense never enters the pool of costs spread across everyone's bills.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration joined them Monday, in a rare move for a sitting governor. In comments filed by Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond, the administration urged regulators to assign the costs of data-center-driven transmission projects to those facilities and endorsed mandatory upfront payments.

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ABC13 [Roanoke]: Va. regulators weigh who should pay billions in power grid upgrades tied to data centers

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The debate centers on Dominion Energy's request to recover about $1.5 billion in high-voltage transmission investments needed to meet growing electricity demand. The Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) is now deciding whether those costs should be shared broadly among customers or placed more heavily on the data centers driving much of the demand.

Governor Abigail Spanberger's administration and several Democratic lawmakers have asked the SCC to ensure those transmission costs are borne by data centers rather than residential customers.

Virginia Mercury: SCC considers making data centers shoulder more of the cost of transmission lines

Consumer advocates have joined Gov. Abigail Spanberger's administration to argue that high-load customers like data centers should pay for the high-voltage lines that solely serve them, a stance now playing out as part of Dominion Energy's case with state regulators to determine how power line costs should impact customers' utility rates.

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The governor's office, through testimony Chief Energy Officer Josephus Allmond filed on July 9, pushed for data centers to pay for all transmission lines that would otherwise not be built "but for" the existence of new data centers.

It is up to the commission to determine if that cost allocation calculation method should be implemented.

"Any network or substation upgrades that would not have been triggered but for a large load customer should be assigned directly to that customer, shielding regular Virginia families from subsidizing commercial extension," Deputy Chief Energy Officer Louise White also testified on Tuesday.