Customers of Dominion Energy, Virginia's largest electric utility, could soon face another bill adjustment after the company asked regulators to pitch in for a nearly $1 billion gap in its fuel cost forecast.
Even the gentler repayment plan now under discussion could leave households paying more overall than the merger rebate the company has been touting.
Here's what to know
As WHRO reported, Dominion underestimated fuel costs by $922 million for the period between July 2025 and June 2026.
Using the normal one-year recovery timetable, Dominion would recoup the full $922 million quickly, adding about $21 a month to the average residential bill, or $252 over a year.
Rather than collecting the money in a single year, Dominion wants the Virginia State Corporation Commission to let it spread repayment over either seven or 10 years through bonds secured by the utility.
That approach would ease immediate pressure on monthly bills, but it would also raise the final amount customers pay. State Corporation Commission calculations show the seven-year option totaling about $258 and the 10-year option reaching roughly $265.
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Each total is higher than the $240 rebate Dominion and NextEra promoted as an affordability benefit connected to NextEra's proposed $67 billion acquisition of the utility.
"No doubt fuel costs are insane and keep going up, but that $10 merger rebate they have come up with is relative chicken feed compared to what customers would be paying to recover fuel costs," said Grayson Holmes, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, per the publication.
More background
Dominion has run into this problem before. The utility's fuel planning has come up short three times, and subsequent bill adjustments shifted billions of dollars in unexpected costs onto customers.
The current shortfall traces back to Dominion's spring 2025 projection that fuel costs in 2026 would hit $3.5 billion. Holmes said the company's actual spending reached $4.4 billion.
Carol Myers, who is on the staff of the State Corporation Commission's Division of Utility Accounting and Finance, testified that Dominion's fuel and purchased power costs rose from roughly $1.7 billion in 2020 to about $4.4 billion in 2025.
Myers further testified that Dominion did not fully factor in sharply rising electricity demand, especially in Northern Virginia's "Data Center Alley."
Dana Wiggins, an economic justice specialist at the nonprofit Virginia Poverty Law Center, indicated that residential consumption has stayed mostly flat while demand from AI data center growth kept climbing.
"Our lowest-income customers really need a lot more than $10 a month," she explained. "It isn't a permanent reduction and it isn't going to prevent an electricity shutoff."
What's being done?
Any proposal to finance the shortfall and recover it over time must be approved by the State Corporation Commission, which is expected to rule by the end of September. An SCC hearing examiner recommended the seven-year option.
Myers also advised requiring Dominion to study why fuel volumes and prices are increasing and how the company can better manage the effect of severe weather on fuel factor payments and customer bills.
Dominion has claimed it is prepared to do that analysis, but a company executive argued that the extraordinary energy demand during Winter Storm Fern could not have been anticipated.
Meanwhile, Delegate Richard "Rip" Sullivan suggested that the proposed merger credit should be treated as an "opening offer," not a final answer.
Lawmakers also approved measures to cut some fuel-related costs. Holmes noted that one of them, HB 1360, would prevent Dominion from charging customers when the utility uses coal- or oil-fired equipment in situations where it didn't make economic sense.
Holmes framed the proposals as more favorable to corporations than to struggling households.
"Dominion doesn't bear the brunt of the cost or any risk if they use more fuel than expected," he observed. "Customers do."
Where can I learn more?
Dominion's fuel shortfall is part of a nationwide pattern: utilities and energy companies are trying to pass rising costs to customers who have little to no say in the matter.
• Utility watchdogs warn that efforts to keep electricity bills high have undercut rooftop solar.
• Across clean-energy markets, consumers are seeing bigger impacts on bills as tariffs and insurance costs climb.
• In Oregon, NW Natural faced accusations of grossly misleading residents and lawmakers about its so-called green energy.
Billing decisions, fuel choices, and corporate messaging can shape what households end up paying. That's part of why Dominion's latest request is drawing such close scrutiny.
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