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Who pays for data center power lines? Virginia hearing could change the answer
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Fusion42 · 16 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
Virginia's State Corporation Commission hearing on Dominion Energy's transmission cost recovery (Rider T-1) could shift billions in grid expansion costs from all ratepayers to data centre operators. The case challenges whether general electricity customers should subsidise infrastructure built primarily to serve Northern Virginia's data centre boom.
This Wire brief sits within Fusion42's coverage of Cloud Infrastructure.
◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
If Virginia shifts transmission costs to data centre operators, your power bill—the single largest variable cost in your facility—just became contestable in regulatory hearings. You'll need to fight every new transmission rider as it's filed, or lock in long-term PPAs now before the rule changes.
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1 source · 15 Jul 2026
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