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Virginia Households Can Save $712 Per Year On Energy Costs With Key Policy Actions

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This memo was contributed to by Evergreen Collaborative and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Background

Soaring data center power demand is starting to strain energy supplies and drive up costs for Virginia households and businesses. High utility profit margins and the Trump administration’s repeal of clean energy tax credits for affordable, faster-to-build sources like wind, solar, and battery storage are only making things worse.

PJM Interconnection—which manages the nation’s largest grid covering 67 million people across Virginia and 12 other states—has stalled around two thousand new, low-cost clean power projects in its clogged interconnection queue. These years-long delays, averaging five years per project, have forced Virginia to rely on costly, aging fossil plants and to fall behind on meeting increasing demand with clean energy.

Meanwhile, Dominion Energy has asked state regulators to approve a roughly 15 percent rate increase—about $21 more per month for the average household—to fund new projects to meet surging electricity demand from Virginia’s rapidly expanding data center industry.

Dec 4, 2025
  • Virginia Affordability Playbook
    • Lower Electric Bills Four state policies could save the average Virginia household $712 per year on electric bills, according to a new report from Synapse Energy Economics
    Lower Energy Costs Synapse’s report also shows that state policy action could cut total statewide energy costs by $16.6 billion by 2030 compared to the status quo
    Virginia Households Can Save $712 Per Year On Energy Costs With Key Policy Actions

    Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. Image: Google/Airbus/Abigail Spanberger/Evergreen Collaborative

    Key Findings From Synapse’s New Report

    As residents across Virginia face skyrocketing electricity bills, a new independent report from Synapse Energy Economics finds that state leaders can take immediate action to deliver much-needed relief to Virginia households. Synapse’s modeling evaluated the combined consumer impact of four policy interventions:

    1. Getting clean energy projects connected to the grid
    2. Data centers supplying their own affordable, clean energy
    3. Adopting smart EV charging programs
    4. Reining in utility profit margins

    According to their findings, residents could see their monthly power bills lower by 18 percent by 2030 through a combination of the policy actions outlined in the report. Statewide, this could cumulatively lead to $16.6B in savings by 2030.

    A graph showing that state policy actions on clean energy could cut total statewide energy costs by $16.6 billion by 2030, compared to the status quo.

    How Virginia Can Unlock $14.3 Billion Savings

    In the wake of Spanberger’s decisive victory amid Virginia’s cost-of-living crisis, Synapse’s report outlines some policy levers that would enable her and other Virginia leaders to unlock energy savings:

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    About the Contributors to This Memo

     

    Evergreen Collaborative

    Evergreen is leading the fight to put bold climate action at the top of America’s agenda. We’re building the ambitious, actionable policy roadmap for an all-out mobilization to defeat climate change—and to create millions of jobs in a thriving, just, and inclusive clean energy future.

     

    Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

    NRDC is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law, and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health, and safeguard nature.