Data centers drive commercial electricity sales surge in Virginia

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that commercial electricity sales in Virginia increased by nearly 30.0 million megawatthours (MWh) between 2019 and 2025, driven largely by a concentration of data centers.

• Main announcement: EIA reports commercial electricity sales in Virginia rose by nearly 30.0 million MWh (2019–2025); summer peak load in PJM’s Dominion zone was 23,905 MW in 2025 (23% higher than 2019) and winter peak was 25,413 MW in the 2025–26 winter season (45% higher than 2019–20). The report attributes growth primarily to a concentration of data centers, plus electric vehicle adoption and building electrification.
• Background and details:PJM expects the Dominion zone to experience the largest absolute increase in summer peak demand during 2026–2030, projecting average summer peak growth of 5.4% per year over the next 10 years (a downward revision from 6.3% in the 2025 forecast). The article references operational responses such as demand response programs, energy storage, interconnection capacity updates, and improved data center load forecasting to manage peak demand.