Virginians Hit With Power Bill Shock As Gov. Spanberger Pushes New Energy Costs

Virginia residents are reporting eye-popping increases in their electricity bills just weeks into Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration, sparking outrage from consumers who say monthly costs have suddenly become unaffordable.

One Virginia woman shared her frustration in a video circulating online, saying her most recent power bill was unlike anything she had ever seen.

“I just got my energy bill for the month,” the resident said. “My bill has tripled.”

“I usually pay around 200 bucks,” she continued, noting that it sometimes reaches $300. “But this month it was 621 bucks. That’s more than my car payment. What in the actual hell is going on?”

While the dramatic spike described does not directly align with state-approved base rate increases, the complaints come as Virginia enters a period of rising energy costs tied to regulatory decisions and policy shifts that will now unfold under Spanberger’s leadership.

To be clear, base rate increases for Dominion Energy customers were approved under former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. However, additional increases scheduled for the coming years — combined with new climate-driven policies — are set to take effect during Spanberger’s tenure.

One of Spanberger’s first major policy moves was announcing that Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multistate cap-and-trade program requiring power plants to purchase carbon emission allowances. According to the American Energy Alliance, those costs are routinely passed directly to consumers through higher electricity bills.

The move is notable given that Spanberger campaigned heavily on affordability, repeatedly pledging to lower energy costs for working families.

American Energy Alliance President Tom Pyle sharply criticized the decision in a statement released this week.

“Cap and trade is just another name for a consumer tax, plain and simple,” Pyle said. “It affects not only energy affordability but also the reliability of the grid, as it makes adding and retaining baseload generation more difficult.”

Pyle warned that soaring power bills should be the administration’s top concern.

“Instead, she remains fixated on pushing pointless, costly policies that Americans have repeatedly rejected,” he said.

Youngkin withdrew Virginia from RGGI during his term, arguing the program functioned as a regressive tax. He previously said Virginians paid $828 million while the state participated in the initiative.

Separately, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) approved base rate increases for all Dominion Energy customers in November as part of the utility’s biennial review.

Under the ruling, the typical residential customer will see an $11.24 increase in 2026 and an additional $2.36 increase in 2027. Regulators said the increases were significantly smaller than what Dominion Energy had originally requested.

The SCC said the approved rates will generate $565.7 million in additional revenue in 2026 and $209.9 million in 2027, compared to the $822 million and $345 million Dominion had sought, according to WRIC.

“As the utility regulator, we are obligated by law to set a revenue requirement that affords the Company an opportunity to recover reasonable and prudent projected costs and earn a reasonable rate of return,” the SCC said. “In this case, that has resulted in an increase in rates, but not to the extent requested by Dominion.”

In addition to base rate hikes, regulators approved a new “GS 5 rate class” targeting customers that demand 25 megawatts of electricity or more.

“To help insulate ratepayers from the costs around the rapid build out and construction of infrastructure to support businesses such as data centers, certain large scale customers will be required to pay a minimum of 85% of contracted distribution and transmission demand and 60% of generation demand,” the SCC said.

Even so, the increases approved by regulators fall well below the massive bill spikes some residents claim they are already experiencing.

A report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) warned that a typical Dominion residential customer could see generation and transmission-related costs rise by an estimated $14 to $37 per month by 2040, independent of inflation.

As Virginians brace for higher utility bills, critics argue the state is once again prioritizing climate ideology over affordability — with working families left to pick up the tab.