The County with the Most Data Centers in Virginia Asks Schools and Firefighters to Save Power
On June 26, 2026, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas sent an email to all county employees, including teachers and first responders, asking for voluntary energy-saving measures. The reason is the electricity rate for government and school facilities, which will increase by about 25% starting July 1, resulting in an estimated additional cost of 5 million dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. This was reported by 404 Media, which obtained a copy of the email.
"Beginning July 1, the rate we pay for electricity used in all government and school facilities in Henrico County will dramatically increase," Vithoulkas wrote, adding that further increases are expected in the coming years. The email lists concrete measures: turning off lights and computers at the end of the day, adjusting blinds to reduce solar heat, unplugging unused devices, and limiting the use of space heaters, which are estimated to cost an additional 150-300 dollars per year per unit.
A Rate Increase Affecting 170 Public Entities
The rate increase does not only affect Henrico: it applies to all approximately 170 member entities of the VEPGA (Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association), the association that negotiates collective contracts with Dominion Energy for local governments, schools, and other public entities in Virginia, including neighboring counties like Chesterfield, Hanover, and Richmond.
So far, this seems like a simple energy-saving countermeasure. However, there is one significant detail: Henrico County currently hosts 37 data centers, with another 17 in planning; among the sites designated for new facilities are hundreds of acres of Civil War battlefields. The first facility, built by Meta in 2017, opened a transformation that has converted the eastern corridor of the county from farmland to a data center hub in five years.
However, Henrico authorities have not officially linked the 25% increase to the data centers: Vithoulkas does not mention them in the email, and the county's communication office described the initiative as "good fiscal and environmental management." At this time, there is no evidence of a direct connection between the VEPGA contract and the growth of data centers, but the coincidence appears at least peculiar.
The Rate Landscape in Virginia
A more explicit connection exists at the state level. In November 2025, the Virginia State Corporation Commission approved a base rate increase for Dominion Energy, citing the growth of loads related to data centers: residential customers have seen their bills rise since January 2026, as reported by Inside Climate News. The same decision established a new rate class, GS-5, reserved for large consumers with demand over 25 MW: starting January 1, 2027, these customers will have to sign mandatory 14-year contracts, covering at least 85% of transmission and distribution costs and 60% of generation costs, even in case of underutilization of facilities.
Virginia hosts more data centers than any other jurisdiction in the world: the Northern Virginia area, known as Data Center Alley, has between 400 and 450, with hundreds more under construction. It is in this context that a public meeting was held in Henrico in May 2026, where residents expressed concerns about water consumption, noise, and electric bills: one resident reported that her bill doubled in January despite having solar panels and a heat pump. Pending the development of electrical infrastructure, some new data centers in the county might be temporarily powered by over 300 diesel generators.