Energy costs listening tour: What Virginians are telling the lieutenant governor

The useful part

The event was the first stop of the Energy Costs Listening Tour, hosted by Virginia Lt. Across Northern Virginia, frustration is bubbling up as Dominion Energy customers report using less electricity this year compared to last. "We are struggling to pay our bills because we have thousands of dollars being paid for electricity that some data center in data center alley is scooping up," one attendee said.

How it works

• Dominion Energy has consistently pointed to increased costs to purchase and deliver electricity, and the demand has been driven largely by data centers.
• State lawmakers said data centers consume almost 30% of all the electricity in the commonwealth.
• "Even with the growing demand for AI, we do not need more data centers." While Virginians' energy bills are going up, a Florida company called Next Era is throwing $67 billion on the table to acquire...
• One man, who said he actually works in AI, took a stand.
• "My Dominion Energy bill has been consistently going up," another person said.

What to take from it

"It should be about whether they can prove that this takeover is actually good for Virginia," Hashmi said. The merger is before state regulators for consideration, with a mid-January deadline. "They are too big, and they need to fail." In a long line of speakers, one person voiced support for the proposed merger.