Virginia Electricity Rates: What to Know

If you live in Virginia and feel like your electric bill has been climbing for years, you're not imagining it. The average residential electricity bill in Virginia has risen nearly 30% since 2021, jumping from around $120 per month to roughly $148-$156 per month in 2025. And in 2026, Dominion Energy's first base rate increase since 1992 is adding another $11.24 per month to the typical household bill.

Virginia's electricity story is unique. You're in a re-regulated state where you cannot choose your provider, but your rates are shaped by forces that do not exist anywhere else: the world's largest concentration of data centers in Northern Virginia, an ambitious clean energy law pushing toward 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045, and an $11.5 billion offshore wind project currently under construction off the coast of Virginia Beach. These factors are all landing on your bill right now.

The average Virginia household pays about 15.87 cents per kilowatt-hour in early 2026 — still below the national average of roughly 17.24 cents per kWh. But that gap is narrowing. This guide explains exactly where your money goes, what's driving costs up, and the concrete steps you can take to fight back.

How Virginia's Electricity Market Works

Virginia is a regulated electricity market. That means your utility company is determined by your physical address, and you cannot shop around for a different provider. Generation, transmission, and delivery are bundled into a single rate set by the utility and approved by the State Corporation Commission (SCC).

This was not always the case. In 1999, Virginia passed the Virginia Electric Utility Restructuring Act, attempting to open the market to retail competition. The idea was that competition would lower prices for everyone. It did not work. Very few competitors emerged because Dominion Energy's rates were already at or below the national average — there was little room to undercut them. By 2007, the General Assembly effectively re-regulated the market, ending the experiment.

Today, only commercial and industrial customers with annual demand above 5 megawatts can shop for competitive electricity supply. For the roughly 3.2 million residential customers across the state, your utility is your only option.

The SCC serves as the key consumer protection body. Its Division of Public Utility Regulation reviews rate cases, approves or modifies rate increases, and oversees utility investments. When Dominion or Appalachian Power wants to raise your rates, they must convince the SCC it's justified — and the SCC does not always agree. In the November 2025 biennial review, the SCC approved smaller rate increases than what Dominion originally requested.

Understanding this structure matters because it shapes your options. You cannot switch providers to save money like you can in deregulated states like Texas. Instead, your path to lower bills runs through energy efficiency, solar, strategic usage patterns, and taking advantage of every rebate and program available. For a detailed breakdown of what each line item on your bill means, see our guide on how to read your electric bill and spot overcharges.

What Virginians Pay for Electricity

As of early 2026, the average residential electricity rate in Virginia is 15.87 cents per kWh. That's up from 14.37 cents per kWh at the end of 2024 — a meaningful jump in just over a year. In fact, year-over-year prices increased 13% between August 2024 and August 2025.

Here's how that translates to monthly bills:

Metric	Amount
Average residential rate (early 2026)	15.87 cents/kWh
National average rate (late 2025)	~17.24 cents/kWh
Average monthly usage	~993 kWh
Average monthly bill (2025)	$148-$156
Bill increase since 2021	~30% ($40-50/month)

Virginia remains below the national average, which puts it in the lower-middle range nationally. But "below average" does not mean affordable when your bill has climbed $40-$50 per month in just a few years.

Several forces are pushing prices upward simultaneously. Natural gas and coal costs nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022, creating a 73% spike in non-renewable fuel costs that flows directly into your bill. Distribution costs have increased 66% and transmission costs have risen 49% in Dominion's territory. On top of that, massive infrastructure investments to serve data centers, comply with clean energy mandates, and build offshore wind capacity are all adding cost.

The 2026 rate increases approved by the SCC in November 2025 add $11.24 per month to the average Dominion residential bill in 2026, with an additional $2.36 per month increase coming in 2027. This is Dominion's first base rate increase since 1992 — previous increases came through riders and fuel adjustments rather than the base rate itself.

Dominion Energy vs. Appalachian Power: Two Very Different Experiences

Virginia is served by two major investor-owned utilities, and your experience depends heavily on which one covers your address.

	Dominion Energy Virginia	Appalachian Power (APCo)
Customers	~2.7 million	~540,000
Territory	Northern Virginia, Richmond, Hampton Roads, parts of SW Virginia	Western Virginia (Roanoke, Lynchburg, surrounding areas)
Average rate (2025)	~15.3 cents/kWh	16.36 cents/kWh
Average monthly bill	~$148-$156	~$174
Recent trend	First base rate increase since 1992	Bills surged 3x faster than inflation
Basic customer charge	$7.58/month	Varies by schedule

Dominion Energy Virginia is the state's largest utility by far, serving the most populated regions including the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Richmond metro area, and the Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach corridor. Dominion uses a tiered energy rate structure — the first 800 kWh you use each month costs less per kWh than usage above that threshold. The basic customer charge is $7.58 per month as of January 2026.

Dominion has announced plans to invest $50.1 billion between 2025 and 2029 — a 16% increase over earlier investment plans. That spending covers grid upgrades, new generation capacity, and clean energy projects. Ultimately, ratepayers fund these investments through their bills.

Appalachian Power, an AEP subsidiary, serves the western part of the state. APCo customers have been hit particularly hard. According to a Clean Virginia report from November 2025, APCo bills have surged more than three times faster than inflation. The average APCo residential bill reached roughly $174 per month in 2025 — about $20-$25 more per month than the average Dominion customer.

There is some recent relief for APCo customers: in November 2025, regulators approved a 24% reduction in APCo's fuel factor, dropping it from 4.139 cents per kWh to 3.133 cents per kWh. That translates to savings of about $10.06 per month for a typical customer. New legislation in 2025 also aims to bring APCo bills down further.

Beyond the two large investor-owned utilities, Virginia has 13 private not-for-profit electric cooperatives that serve about one-third of the state geographically (mostly rural areas), plus several municipal utilities in cities like Danville, Harrisonburg, and Bedford. Co-op rates vary; Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, for example, charges an average of 13.91 cents per kWh — about 5.5% below the state average — though its average monthly bill of $172.81 reflects higher usage among rural customers.

How Data Centers Are Driving Up Your Bill

Northern Virginia is the world's largest data center market. If you've driven along the Dulles corridor in Loudoun County, you've seen the massive buildings springing up along every major road. These facilities house the servers that power cloud computing, streaming services, artificial intelligence, and much of the modern internet.

The scale is staggering. A single hyperscale data center can consume 100 megawatts or more of electricity — equivalent to the power used by roughly 80,000 households. And there are dozens of them in Northern Virginia, with more under construction.

This matters for your electric bill because Dominion must build enormous amounts of new infrastructure — transmission lines, substations, generation capacity — to serve this explosive demand growth. Dominion forecasts that peak electricity demand will rise 75% by 2039 with data center growth factored in. Without data centers, that growth would be only 10%. Metered load from data centers has already increased 31% since 2022.

The costs of all that infrastructure investment get spread across all ratepayers, including residential customers. Wholesale electricity costs near data center hubs have risen up to 267% more than five years ago. Since 2022, disconnections in Dominion's service area have increased by 1.1 percentage points — a sign that rising bills are pushing some families to the breaking point.

Regulators are taking steps to address the imbalance. The SCC approved a new GS-5 rate class for customers demanding 25 megawatts or more (which includes most large data centers), taking effect January 1, 2027. Under this new rate class, large-scale customers must pay a minimum of 85% of their contracted distribution and transmission demand and 60% of their generation demand. The goal is to insulate residential ratepayers from the infrastructure costs driven by data center buildout.

Whether the GS-5 rate class goes far enough is debatable. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) completed a comprehensive Virginia Data Center Study in December 2024, and the issue remains one of the most contentious in Virginia energy politics. But for now, data center growth is a significant driver of the infrastructure spending that's pushing your rates higher.

The Virginia Clean Economy Act and What It Means for Your Bill

In 2020, Virginia signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) into law, setting the state on a path to 100% carbon-free electricity. The VCEA requires Dominion Energy to reach that target by 2045 and Appalachian Power by 2050.

The law is ambitious. It declares 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind to be in the public interest and requires Dominion to petition the SCC for 16,100 megawatts of solar capacity. As of early 2026, Dominion has petitioned for about 4,500 MW of solar — roughly 28% of the total requirement.

For 2026, the renewable portfolio standards require Dominion to source at least 29% of its electricity from renewables and Appalachian Power to reach at least 17%. Utilities that fall short face a penalty of $45 per megawatt-hour in renewable energy credit purchases.

The VCEA is driving real change in Virginia's energy mix, but it's also adding cost to your bill. Before the VCEA, the tariff for 1,000 kWh of electricity was approximately $116. Today it exceeds $143 per 1,000 kWh — a 23% increase. The average monthly bill has risen from roughly $120 to $160 per 1,000 kWh since the law was passed.

There's an active debate about how much of Virginia's rate increases are attributable to the VCEA versus data center growth versus fuel cost volatility. The honest answer is that all three are contributing simultaneously. But the clean energy transition has a bill impact that's measurable and growing. Energy demands from data centers are also straining VCEA timelines, and federal funding uncertainty is adding another layer of complexity to clean energy investments.

Offshore Wind: The CVOW Project

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project is the nation's first utility-scale offshore wind farm, and it's currently under construction about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. When complete, its 2,600 megawatts of capacity will provide zero-carbon energy to up to 660,000 customers at peak output.

The project is over 70% complete as of early 2026. First power is expected in March 2026, with the majority of turbines entering service by the end of the year and the remainder in early 2027. It has created roughly 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and generated about $2 billion in economic activity.

It has also gotten more expensive. The current price tag stands at $11.5 billion, up from the original estimate of $9.8 billion. A $228 million increase came from a brief federal suspension of the project's lease in December 2025 over "national security concerns" (a federal judge allowed work to resume in January 2026), and another $580 million stems from tariffs on imported components.

For your bill, CVOW currently adds approximately $3.89 per month per 1,000 kWh of usage. As the project reaches full buildout, that figure is expected to rise to $11.23 per month per 1,000 kWh. That's a meaningful cost, but proponents argue it reduces long-term exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices and provides emissions-free electricity for decades.

Understanding Your Dominion Energy Bill

If you're a Dominion Energy customer on Schedule 1 (Standard Residential), here's what makes up your monthly bill:

Basic Customer Charge: $7.58/month. This is a flat fee you pay regardless of how much electricity you use. It covers the cost of maintaining your connection to the grid.

Energy Charges (tiered). Dominion uses a tiered structure where the first 800 kWh you use each month is charged at a lower per-kWh rate, and usage above 800 kWh is charged at a higher rate. This encourages conservation — the more you use, the more expensive each additional kWh becomes.

Fuel Factor Charge. This is a separate line item that covers the cost of fuel (natural gas, coal) used to generate electricity. It changes periodically as fuel markets fluctuate. One customer reported their fuel charge jumping from $58 in February 2025 to $76 in February 2026.

Riders. These are separate line items for specific projects and programs. Many of Virginia's rate increases over the years have come through riders rather than base rate changes — it's one reason Dominion went so long without a base rate increase. Riders cover things like VCEA compliance, grid modernization, and specific infrastructure projects.

Taxes and Surcharges. Your bill includes a sales and use surcharge (recovering sales tax on Dominion's purchases), state and local consumption taxes, and utility taxes calculated on a per-kWh basis.

For a complete breakdown of how to read each line item, check out our guide on how to read your electric bill and spot overcharges.

Time-of-Use: Dominion's Off-Peak Plan

Dominion offers a voluntary Off-Peak Plan for customers with smart meters. This is a time-of-use rate that charges different prices depending on when you use electricity — lower rates during off-peak hours and higher rates during peak demand periods.

The plan carries the same $7.58 monthly basic charge as Schedule 1, has no demand component, and you can disenroll at any time. The catch: once you leave the Off-Peak Plan, you cannot re-enroll for 12 months.

This plan works well if you can shift heavy electricity usage — laundry, dishwasher, EV charging — to evenings and weekends. Our guide on time-of-use electricity rates explains how to maximize savings with this kind of rate structure.

Dominion also offers Schedule 1EV, a dedicated residential rate for EV owners. If you drive an electric vehicle and charge at home, it's worth checking whether this schedule offers better rates for your charging patterns.

Solar Options for Virginia Homeowners

Virginia receives about 4.5 to 5 peak sun hours per day, making rooftop solar a viable option for many homeowners. Here's the current landscape for solar in the state.

Net Metering

Both Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power offer net metering, which credits you at the full retail rate for excess solar electricity you send back to the grid. That's a 1:1 transaction — every kWh you export offsets a kWh you would have bought at your full retail rate.

Credits roll over month-to-month within a 12-month billing cycle. At the end of the cycle, remaining credits either roll over or are paid out at the utility's avoided-cost rate (which is significantly lower than retail).

Important: net metering rules may change soon. Dominion submitted a proposal in May 2025 that could alter compensation rates for new solar systems, potentially as early as mid-2026. If you're considering solar, acting before those changes take effect could lock in more favorable terms. For a complete buyer's guide, see our post on choosing the best solar panels for your home.

Solar Incentives

The incentive picture has shifted. The federal 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit expired on December 31, 2025 for residential installations. This is a significant loss that makes the payback period for rooftop solar longer than it was a year ago.

However, commercial and community solar projects can still claim the 30% federal credit for projects that begin construction by July 4, 2026, with a four-year completion window.

On the state level, Virginia still offers meaningful incentives:

• Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs): You earn 1 SREC for every 1,000 kWh your solar system produces. These credits can be sold on the market for additional income.
• Property Tax Exemption: Virginia allows localities to exempt up to 80% of a solar system's value from property taxes. Many counties and cities have adopted this exemption, which prevents your property tax bill from rising after a solar installation.

If you're interested in solar but do not own your roof or have a suitable rooftop, community solar lets you subscribe to a shared solar project and receive credits on your bill. And if you want backup power alongside your solar system, see our roundup of the best solar batteries for home backup.

Strategies to Lower Your Virginia Electric Bill

You cannot switch electricity providers in Virginia, but you have more control over your bill than you might think. Here are the most effective strategies, roughly ordered by impact.

Invest in Energy Efficiency

The cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you never use. Start with the biggest energy consumers in your home:

• Heating and cooling account for roughly half of your electricity bill. A smart thermostat can cut HVAC costs by 10-15% with no lifestyle changes. Dominion offers up to a $30 rebate on eligible smart thermostats and a $50 rebate specifically on ecobee Smart Thermostats.
• Water heating is the second-largest energy expense. Dominion offers up to a $400 rebate on heat pump water heaters, which use 2-3 times less electricity than conventional electric water heaters.
• Insulation and air sealing reduce the work your HVAC system has to do. Dominion offers rebates on spray foam insulation.
• Pool pumps are hidden energy hogs. Switching to a variable-speed pool pump qualifies for up to a $300 rebate from Dominion.

A home energy monitor can help you identify exactly where your electricity is going, so you know which upgrades will save the most. For the full roadmap on electrifying your home for efficiency, check out our whole-home electrification guide.

Take Advantage of Dominion's Programs

Dominion runs several programs beyond equipment rebates:

• Online Marketplace: Instant rebates on ENERGY STAR products including dehumidifiers, air purifiers, insulation materials, and air filters.
• Home Energy Assessment: Dominion offers assessments to identify where your home is losing energy.
• Peak Time Rebates Program: Earn rebates by voluntarily reducing your usage during peak demand events. When Dominion declares a peak event, you get paid for using less.
• Smart Thermostat Rewards: Enroll your smart thermostat in Dominion's demand response program for additional savings on top of regular thermostat savings.
• EV Telematics Rewards: If you own an electric vehicle, earn rewards for charging during off-peak hours through your connected car's telematics system.

Note that Dominion's rebate programs for 2025 filled up quickly. If you're interested in 2026 programs, apply early or join the waitlist.

Shift Usage to Off-Peak Hours

If you're on Dominion's Off-Peak Plan (or considering it), shifting high-draw activities to off-peak hours can meaningfully reduce your bill. Run your dishwasher, laundry, and EV charger during evenings and weekends. Program your water heater to heat during off-peak periods if it has a timer. For more strategies on making time-of-use rates work for you, see our time-of-use rates guide.

Consider Solar (Especially Before Net Metering Changes)

Even without the expired federal tax credit, solar can still make financial sense in Virginia thanks to full retail net metering, SRECs, and property tax exemptions. But the window for the most favorable terms may be closing — net metering changes could arrive as soon as mid-2026. If you've been on the fence, this year may be the best time to act.

Weatherize Your Home

Proper insulation, air sealing, and efficient windows reduce your heating and cooling loads year-round. If your income qualifies (up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines), the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provides these improvements at no cost. Even if you do not qualify for WAP, the return on investment for basic weatherization is typically excellent. For more specific strategies, our guide on how to cut your electric bill in half covers the highest-impact improvements.

Help for Low-Income Virginians

If you're struggling to pay your electric bill, Virginia has several programs specifically designed to help.

PIPP (Percentage of Income Payment Program)

This is the most impactful program for qualifying households. PIPP caps your monthly electric payment at 10% of your income if you heat with electricity, or 6% of your income if you use another heat source. For example, if your monthly income is $1,000 and you heat with electricity, your bill would be capped at $100 per month regardless of actual usage.

Eligibility requires income at or below 150% of federal poverty guidelines. Enrolled customers pay no security deposit and are charged no late fees. After 12 consecutive on-time payments, your entire outstanding balance is cleared.

PIPP is available to both Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power customers and is administered by the Virginia Department of Social Services.

LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)

Virginia's LIHEAP program received $93.3 million in funding for fiscal year 2026. It provides both heating and cooling assistance to income-eligible households (income at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level).

Cooling assistance ranges from a $50 minimum to a $700 maximum, with the application period running from June 15 through August 15. Contact the Virginia Department of Social Services at 1-804-726-7000 or toll-free at 1-800-552-3431.

EnergyShare

Created in 1983, EnergyShare provides emergency heating and cooling assistance regardless of your heat source — it covers electricity, natural gas, oil, kerosene, and even wood. Call 2-1-1 to be referred to your local EnergyShare agency.

Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)

For longer-term bill reduction, the WAP provides home energy audits, insulation, air sealing, and HVAC improvements at no cost to qualifying households. Income eligibility extends up to 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines (or 60% of State Median Income). For a family, Virginia's State Median Income is $52,720. Individual income limits for 2025-2026 range from $43,420 for a single person to $83,500 for a family of four.

The WAP is administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). These improvements reduce your bills permanently, making WAP one of the most valuable programs available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my electric bill keep going up?

Multiple factors are pushing Virginia electricity bills higher simultaneously. Fuel costs spiked 73% starting in 2022 when natural gas and coal prices surged. Dominion is investing $50.1 billion between 2025-2029 in infrastructure, and those costs get passed to ratepayers. VCEA compliance is adding costs for renewable energy buildout including the $11.5 billion offshore wind project. And data center growth in Northern Virginia is driving massive grid expansion that all customers help pay for. The 2026 base rate increase — Dominion's first since 1992 — adds $11.24 per month to the average residential bill.

Can I choose my electricity provider in Virginia?

No, not if you're a residential customer. Virginia re-regulated its electricity market in 2007 after a brief deregulation experiment that failed to produce meaningful competition. Your utility is determined by your physical address — most Virginians are served by either Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power. Only large commercial customers with demand exceeding 5 megawatts can shop for competitive supply.

How are data centers affecting my electric bill?

Northern Virginia hosts the world's largest concentration of data centers. A single hyperscale facility can consume as much electricity as 80,000 homes. Dominion must build billions of dollars worth of new infrastructure — transmission lines, substations, generation capacity — to serve this demand, and those costs are shared across all ratepayers. The SCC has created a new rate class (GS-5) starting in 2027 that requires data centers to pay a larger share of their infrastructure costs, but the full impact of data center growth on residential bills remains a major concern.

Is rooftop solar still worth it without the federal tax credit?

The federal 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit expired at the end of 2025, which does lengthen the payback period. However, Virginia's full retail net metering (1:1 credit for excess generation), Solar Renewable Energy Credits, and the property tax exemption (up to 80% of system value) still make solar financially attractive for many homeowners. The bigger urgency is that net metering rules may change in mid-2026 — locking in current terms before any changes take effect could protect your investment for years.

What help is available if I cannot afford my electric bill?

Virginia offers several programs. PIPP caps your bill at 6-10% of your income for households below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level. LIHEAP provides heating and cooling assistance with $93.3 million in Virginia funding for 2026. EnergyShare offers emergency help — call 2-1-1. The Weatherization Assistance Program provides free home improvements that reduce bills long-term for qualifying households. Contact the Virginia Department of Social Services at 1-800-552-3431 to determine which programs you qualify for.

What is Dominion's Off-Peak Plan and should I sign up?

It's a voluntary time-of-use rate available to customers with smart meters. You pay less for electricity during off-peak hours and more during peak hours, with the same $7.58 basic charge. It's a good fit if you can consistently shift heavy-use activities (laundry, EV charging, dishwasher, water heating) to evenings and weekends. You can disenroll at any time, but once you leave, you cannot re-enroll for 12 months. If your schedule keeps you away from home during peak hours, it's worth trying.

How will the offshore wind project affect my bill?

The 2,600 MW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project currently adds about $3.89 per month per 1,000 kWh to your bill. As the project reaches full buildout and financing costs are fully allocated, that figure is expected to rise to approximately $11.23 per month per 1,000 kWh. However, the project will provide emissions-free electricity to up to 660,000 customers and reduce Virginia's exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices over its multi-decade operating life.

What is the average electric bill in Virginia?

As of 2025, the average Virginia residential electric bill runs approximately $148-$156 per month, based on average usage of about 993 kWh. This is below the national average. However, there's significant variation: Dominion customers generally pay less than Appalachian Power customers (whose average bill is around $174 per month), and rural co-op customers may pay more or less depending on their cooperative and usage patterns.

Your Virginia Electricity Action Plan

Here's a concrete plan to take control of your electricity costs:

This week:

1. Pull up your most recent Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power bill. Note your current rate, monthly usage, and identify each line item. Use our bill reading guide if any charges are unclear.
2. Log into your utility's online portal and download your usage history for the past 12 months. Calculate your average monthly consumption.
3. Check whether you have a smart meter. If you do, evaluate whether Dominion's Off-Peak Plan could save you money based on your daily schedule.

This month: 4. Apply for Dominion's rebate programs before they fill up. Start with the smart thermostat rebate ($30-$50) and heat pump water heater rebate (up to $400) if applicable. 5. Enroll in Peak Time Rebates and Smart Thermostat Rewards if you have a qualifying thermostat. 6. If your income qualifies, contact the Virginia Department of Social Services at 1-800-552-3431 to apply for PIPP, LIHEAP, or weatherization assistance.

This quarter: 7. Get quotes from at least three solar installers if you own your home and have a suitable roof. Factor in SRECs, the property tax exemption, and current net metering terms. Move quickly — net metering rules may change mid-2026. 8. If solar is not an option, look into community solar programs in your area. 9. Schedule a home energy assessment through Dominion to identify your biggest efficiency opportunities. 10. Invest in weatherization — insulation, air sealing, and window upgrades. If your income qualifies for WAP, apply through the Virginia DHCD.

Ongoing: 11. Monitor your bills monthly. Watch for new riders or charge increases and understand what's driving them. 12. Shift usage to off-peak hours wherever possible, especially for EV charging, laundry, and water heating. 13. Install a home energy monitor to track consumption in real time and catch waste before it shows up on your bill.

Virginia's electricity costs are rising, and the forces driving them — data centers, clean energy mandates, offshore wind, aging infrastructure — are not going away. But you are not powerless. Between efficiency upgrades, solar, rebate programs, and strategic usage, a Virginia household can realistically reduce its electricity costs by 20-40%. That could mean $400-$750 per year back in your pocket. Start with the highest-impact items on this list and work your way down.