Dominion Energy addresses high energy bills and offers resources for relief

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — If you did a double take when you opened your electricity bill this month, you're not alone. Dominion Energy customers across Central Virginia have reported a spike in their latest energy bill, some seeing invoices that are double or triple the amount they'd typically pay.

"In December through January what I was paying was $261.22, and then from January into February it became $441.18," said Robert Linkonis, a Chesterfield County homeowner.

Robert Linkonis shows the increase on his latest energy bill. (Photo: Jakobi Davis, 8News)

He shared his shock on social media, hoping to get some answers, and realized that other neighbors shared the same experience.

"It seemed like across the board, with anyone that has a home that prices just doubled. You know, some in the 500, 600, and 700s ... even worse than what it is here at my house," Linkonis said.

Many customers have speculated that data centers are to blame, but Dominion says that is not the case.

"Data centers are not impacting customer residential customers' electric bills," said Dominion Spokesperson Jeremy Slayton. "We have the strongest residential customer protections in the United States when it comes to data centers."

According to Dominion, the energy provider took steps last year to prevent data center costs from being passed on to customers. The company created a new rate class for high-energy users like data centers, increasing the centers' upfront costs and long-term demand charges.

Slayton says there are two factors that have contributed to the increase that customers have seen. One, being the record cold that froze parts of Central Virginia. The other factor is a rate hike that went into effect this year to offset the rising costs of fuel and grid equipment.

Despite this, Dominion says there are programs in place to offer relief, including bill payment assistance, home energy evaluations and budget billing.

"When you are expecting to pay the same amount month to month, you're not going to be surprised by an unusually high winter bill," Slayton said.

Linkonis says he's since signed up for Dominion's energy alerts to better manage his usage.

"It is some kind of a relief having the usage alerts. That's what I signed up for. I signed up for any kind of information I could gather for what's causing the bill to spike," he said.

He says he's hopeful his next bill won't catch him by surprise.

"I'm hoping it will go down because the climate is a little bit easier right now," Linkonis said. "So hopefully it won't be as bad as what I'm thinking it will be but, who knows."

Dominion's savings and assistance options are available here.