Virginia's Fairfax County schools top 100 outages a month, with $100,000 overtime bill

For the Fairfax County Public School system in Virginia, frequent power outages have become extraordinarily disruptive, impacting classes and programs while leaving taxpayers with six-figure costs.

Here's what to know

In a report for NBC Washington (@NBCWashington), journalist Drew Wilder explained, "The largest school district in the DMV is averaging more than 100 power outages a month over the last year."

Wilder reported in the TikTok video, "The power outages at this district are so frequent that they're having to cancel programs."

@nbcwashington Fairfax County Public Schools averages more than 100 power outages a month. The outages are disrupting school operations and costing the district about $100,000 a year in electrician overtime. School officials point to growing strain on the electrical grid, including increased demand from data centers, while Dominion Energy says it has not established a connection between the outages and large-load customers. News4's Drew Wilder breaks down what's been happening since last July and what it's costing taxpayers. #fairfaxcounty #northernvirginia #datacenters #fcps #fairfaxcountypublicschools ♬ original sound - NBC4 Washington

Fairfax County Public Schools said the recurring outages have affected operations throughout the district and triggered expensive response efforts. Officials with the school district told NBC Washington that it spends about $100,000 a year on electrician overtime alone just to keep its facilities running.

According to Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid, backup generators provide only limited help. They do not power the refrigerators used for student meals, and they also cannot run heating or cooling systems.

Wilder also explained, "The issue here is the increasing demand and strain on our electrical grid, which has been exacerbated exponentially by data centers."

When asked about the cause, Dominion Energy said, "The cause of an individual outage can vary, and we need to review specific incidents to determine whether there is a common cause. Based on the outages we have reviewed, we have not established a connection between these events and data centers or other large load customers." 

One commenter wrote, "For those wondering, this is happening everywhere in this area, not just in the schools."

More background

The consequences of school power loss can spread quickly. It can interrupt instruction, cancel programs, and spoil food. And buildings can become uncomfortable or even unsafe during extreme heat or cold.

As Wilder reported, there is also an important connection to the AI boom. Many new data centers are being built in the region to support cloud computing and AI tools just as regular people are feeling the added strain to the grid. And those people are concerned about companies prioritizing data centers over everyday needs.

Where can I learn more?

Fairfax County's school outages are playing out as AI infrastructure demands more energy and spreads across the region and the U.S.

• Across the eastern U.S., the AI boom sent power prices up 76%, worsening grid-strain fears.

• Eastern U.S. grid operators told AI data centers to fire up generators as heat surged.

• In Maryland, residents may pay an extra $1.6 billion to subsidize AI data centers.

Learning about the impacts AI data centers have won't solve everything, but learning about how other people are handling them can inform what your community does.

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