FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kendl Kobbervig, Communications Director
[email protected] | (608) 575-8798
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Lawmakers spotlight Virginia’s energy affordability crisis at Manassas tour kickoff
Roem, Perry, and Thomas call for action on rising energy bills and corporate influence in Virginia’s energy system
MANASSAS, Va. — Lawmakers, candidates, and community leaders gathered in Manassas last night for the first stop of Clean Virginia’s “The Energy Bills Are Too Damn High!” town hall tour, calling attention to Virginia’s growing energy affordability crisis and the unchecked corporate power behind it.
The event drew more than 60 attendees for a discussion about how massive energy demand from data centers and unchecked corporate influence are driving up electric bills across Virginia and what can be done to lower costs for families and businesses.
Featured speakers included:
“We have families in Prince William County and across Virginia who are paying some of the highest electric bills in the country,” said Sen. Danica Roem. “They’re not seeing that money go toward better service or cleaner energy; it’s going to monopoly utilities and unchecked corporate profits.”
The Manassas event marked the first of four stops in the statewide tour, which continues in Richmond (Oct. 16), Fredericksburg (Oct. 21), and Blacksburg (Oct. 23). Each town hall highlights how corporate political influence, rapid data center expansion, and outdated fossil fuel projects are driving up costs, and how upcoming elections present a critical opportunity for change.
“We’re traveling across Virginia to tell the truth about why energy bills keep rising and who’s benefiting from it,” said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia. “For too long, monopoly utilities and Big Tech have written the rules to protect their profits. This tour is about putting power back in the hands of Virginians.”
For more information, visit www.toodamnhigh.org.
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Clean Virginia is a nonpartisan advocacy nonprofit with an affiliated political action committee, the Clean Virginia Fund. Clean Virginia works to end utility monopoly corruption in politics to promote clean, affordable energy and a government that works for all Virginians.