FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Kendl Kobbervig, Communications Director
[email protected] | (608) 575-8798
March 4, 2026
House subcommittee kills bills to address rising electric bills and data center impacts
Richmond, Va. – Two major bills aimed at addressing the impacts of Virginia’s rapidly expanding data center industry and protecting households from rising electricity costs were killed Tuesday by the Virginia House of Delegates Labor and Commerce Subcommittee #3. Both bills had earlier passed the Senate with large majorities.
“Across Virginia, families are opening electric bills that are higher than they have ever seen,” said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia. “This legislation would have created basic checks and balances to make sure that massive new energy demand from data centers does not raise costs for everyone else. Instead, the House chose to kill them.”
Senate Bill 339 (Senator Russet Perry, D – SD 31), which would have directed the State Corporation Commission to adopt a fairer method for allocating the costs of energy infrastructure among different types of customers, was recommended to continue to 2027 by voice vote.
Senate Bill 619 (Senator Kannan Srinivasan, D – SD 32), which would have required large-load customers such as data centers to demonstrate that connecting to the electric grid would not increase costs for other ratepayers or threaten reliability, was laid on the table on a 9–0 vote. Delegates Rip Sullivan (D – HD 6), Irene Shin (D – HD 8), Michael Feggans (D – HD 97), Nadarius Clark (D – HD 84), Bonita Anthony (D – HD 92), May Nivar (D – HD 57), Terry Kilgore (R – HD 45), Tony Wilt (R – HD 34), and Wren Williams (R – HD 47) voted to table SB 619. The motion was made by Delegate Shin.
The votes come as many Virginia households are struggling to keep up with soaring electricity costs. Residents across the state have reported bills of $700, $900 and even more than $2000. Virginians have described skipping meals and postponing medical care to try to manage the costs.
“Families should not be subsidizing one of the most profitable industries in the world through their electric bills,” Gilmore said. “By killing these bills, the House chose to leave Virginia households exposed to rising costs driven by data center expansion.”
###
Clean Virginia is a 501(c)4 independent advocacy organization with an associated Political Action Committee, Clean Virginia Fund. Clean Virginia works to fight corruption in Virginia politics in order to promote clean and affordable energy. We are motivated by the core belief that our democracy should serve everyday Virginians over special interests.