Virginia SCC shifts data center transmission costs

The Piedmont Environmental Council says the Virginia State Corporation Commission has issued a ruling on utility rates that requires large-load data center customers to pay for transmission facilities built solely to serve them.

• The SCC’s July 31 order says transmission costs for facilities built solely for data centers should follow cost causation principles; Dominion must coordinate with SCC staff and file a new cost assignment proposal within 90 days.
• PEC says the decision is only a first step because it does not settle who pays for billions of dollars in other supplemental and regional transmission projects or for new generation resources, including multiple natural gas-fired power plants proposed by Dominion.