By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Dominion Energy has applied to the State Corporation Commission (SCC) for a 15 percent increase in base rates, the company announced last week.
Dominion serves 2.5 million customers across Virginia, including 13,600 in Fluvanna County.
“We do not ask for this lightly, as we understand the economic pressures on our customers and the need to maintain rates that are cost-effective and a good value for them,” Dominion president Ed Blaine said in the SCC filing.
The typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours a month would see the base rate increase by $8.51 on January 1, 2026, and an additional $2.00 on January 1, 2027.
Dominion also requests a $10.92 increase in its “fuel factor,” a charge covering fuel costs. That increase could begin as early as July 2025.
The company estimates the average $140 monthly bill would climb to $162 if the SCC approves the entire request.
Dominion officials say the increases are needed to grow the company’s generation and distribution systems.
“Virginians are using about five percent more power every year,” company spokesman Aaron Ruby told WTVR-TV Richmond, “and so we need to make investments in the grid so that we can reliably serve our customers’ growing needs.”
Demand is expected to grow by three percent annually for the next 15 years.
This is the first formal base rate increase since 1991. Between 2007 and 2023, all rate increases have come through riders that have allowed Dominion to adjust costs.
A 2024 SCC investigation found that the riders had increased customer costs by 47.6 percent during that 16-year period.
In 2022, Dominion agreed to refund customers over $330 million after an SCC review found the company had over-earned by $1.1 billion between 2017 and 2020.
