Russet Perry

The State Corporation Commission (SCC) is considering requiring data centers to cover costs of transmission lines they exclusively use, as part of Dominion Energy's case to recover $1.5 billion in grid expansion costs. Governor Abigail Spanberger’s administration and consumer advocates argue high-load customers should pay for infrastructure they trigger, while data centers and Microsoft contend they already pay allocated costs legally. Dominion revised projected rate impacts for households multiple times.

Community activists and leaders in Northern Virginia gathered to oppose the expansion of data centers, citing environmental harm and government failure to manage their impact. Attendees criticized tax breaks for corporations like Amazon and Powerhouse 95, while state senators acknowledged concerns about uncontrolled data center growth.

Governor Abigail Spanberger signed healthcare affordability bills into law in Virginia, targeting reduced medical care costs through insurance claims reform and prescription drug affordability. Key legislation includes measures to allow flat-rate copays for prescriptions, prohibit downcoding insurance claims without provider justification, and lower insulin and diabetes equipment costs.