Lights are being switched off earlier in classrooms and offices in Virginia’s Henrico County as a rapid rise in electricity costs begins to filter through public services, reports Inc.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
The county, which has spent years encouraging data centre development, is now facing a steep increase in its power bills. From 1 July, electricity rates for Henrico’s government and schools will rise by nearly 25 percent, adding about $5 million in annual costs.
In a June 26 email to staff, County Manager John Vithoulkas urged employees to take simple steps to cut usage, including turning off lights, shutting down computers, unplugging chargers, adjusting blinds and avoiding space heaters. He noted that some heaters alone can cost between $150 and $300 a year to run.
The message landed in a county that has become one of Virginia’s key data centre hubs, home to 37 facilities, according to local planning data, with clusters around White Oak Technology Park.
Ben Sheppard, the county’s communications director, said the email reflected wider priorities. He told Inc. it was about “good fiscal stewardship and good environmental stewardship”, describing both as core values for the county.
Electricity contract drives sharp increase
The price rise comes through a new electricity contract negotiated by the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association, which buys power on behalf of local governments, schools and public bodies in Dominion Energy’s service area.
The association has said members will see a 24.9 percent increase from July, followed by at least another 12 percent rise in 2027.
Dominion Energy said the higher municipal rates reflect “inflationary pressures and rising costs of fuel, purchased power, grid equipment, and the necessary investments to maintain a reliable grid to serve growing demand.”
That demand is now at the centre of the debate.
Pressure on the grid grows
According to Monitoring Analytics, the independent market monitor for PJM Interconnection, wholesale electricity costs across the region rose 62.7 percent in the first five months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.
Capacity costs, which are payments designed to ensure enough future electricity supply, rose 412.9 percent.
The monitor estimated that data centre demand accounted for nearly three-quarters of the increase in capacity-market revenues in the 2025-26 auction. It also said data centres pushed wholesale power prices up by $11.26 per megawatt-hour in early 2026, a 24.4 percent rise.
