Mark Warner

As Virginia regulators and legislators grapple with the impact of data centers’ huge demand for electricity on other ratepayers’ bills, Sen. Mark Warner is co-sponsoring legislation for a national approach.

Among other things, the Power for the People Act of 2026 directs states to follow Virginia’s lead and consider setting special rates and conditions for data centers.

Virginia’s State Corporation Commission last year approved a special rate class for big electricity users.

It aims to ensure that other ratepayers don’t get stuck with the cost of the wires and equipment Dominion Energy needs to install to serve data centers.

It does this by saying facilities that consistently use 25 megawatts or more — enough to power 6,250 homes — would have to sign a 14-year contract to pay for a set minimum of power, even if they use less.

In addition, these big users would have to put up collateral amounting to $1.5 million for each megawatt they plan to use. The new rates and rules for these customers go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.

In addition to saying other states should consider something like this approach, the bill Warner is co-sponsoring also would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule that data centers must pay for any high-voltage transmission lines and related equipment that they need, if the only reason for building these is to serve the data center.

In addition, the bill would set up a system to make sure that when data centers plug into an electric grid, the interconnection doesn’t risk blackouts or soaring power bills.

The bill also includes incentives to get data centers to:

build their own power plants and battery storage facilities;

agree to reduce use at times of the highest demand for power;

use clean energy sources; and

pay prevailing wages and use apprenticeship programs.

“From the expansion of data centers to the administration’s senseless tariffs to Trump’s war of choice in Iran, Virginia families are being crushed by rising energy costs,” Warner said.

“Virginia is the data center capital of the world, and new data center proposals are popping up all the time across the commonwealth. If corporations are going to run data centers in Virginia, they should cover the cost of them,” he said.

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The Data Center Coalition, an industry group, says data centers are not to blame for rising energy prices and that they hold down the cost of electricity to other ratepayers.

“The data center industry remains committed to paying the full cost of the energy it uses,” said Nicole Riley, the coalition’s director of Virginia government affairs.

“The State Corporation Commission’s new rate class for large users is intended to provide even more protection for residential ratepayers in the coming years,” she said.