On October 2, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (“Commission” or “SCC”) announced that it will hold a technical conference on December 16 to evaluate the impacts of data centers and other large energy users.
In its scheduling order, the Commission stated that it “is interested in potential frameworks that would facilitate service [to these customers] in a manner that, among other things, reasonably addresses the risks and issues attendant to this new load type, is just and reasonable to both current and future customers, and is permissible under current Virginia statutory law.”
The order references several potential regulatory changes, including amendments to utility line extension policies, the direct assignment of transmission costs, or a new tariff with a minimum contract length and collateral provisions to protect the utility’s other customers.
Virginia’s two largest electric utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) and Appalachian Power Company (“APCo”) are both struggling to meet growing demand from data center customers. In its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, Dominion projected peak demand growth from 17 gigawatts to over 33 gigawatts between 2023 and 2048. That projected load growth was due almost entirely to the proliferation of data centers in Dominion’s Virginia service territory. APCo, meanwhile, is seeking SCC approval to implement changes to its Large Power Service tariff to protect customers from the impacts of “hyperscale” data centers. The utility is requesting these changes to its Schedule LPS in a pending SCC rate case.
One of APCo’s affiliates, AEP Ohio, recently placed a moratorium on all new data center interconnections pending a review of proposed tariff changes pending at the Ohio Public Utilities Commission. The utility has proposed new tariffs for data centers and cryptocurrency mining customers to ensure those entities do not impose unreasonable costs on other consumers.
The SCC’s order and press release announcing the technical conference states that anyone interested in participating as a panelist should submit a self-nomination form by October 22.