Price gouging protections in effect in Virginia ahead of winter storm, Attorney General Jay Jones says

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- As a winter storm heads toward Virginia this weekend, Attorney General Jay Jones (D) is putting businesses on notice and said price gouging won't be tolerated.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, Jones announced that price gouging protections are now in effect after Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) declared a state of emergency for Virginia earlier that day, in anticipation of extreme weather conditions, triggering Virginia's anti-price gouging statutes.

WATCH: Gov. Spanberger declares state of emergency for Virginia ahead of winter storm

The weekend winter storm is expected to bring snow, freezing rain and dangerous ice accumulation, which could potentially cause widespread power outages.

Our StormTracker8 team is expecting that this system will bring some snow to the region at the start, but this will become sleet and freezing rain in the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 25. This freezing rain will quickly freeze into ice.

These new price gouging protections are intended to ensure consumers are not forced to pay "outrageously high prices for essential goods during an emergency," according to a release from the office of the attorney general.

The statutes prohibit suppliers from charging “unconscionable prices” for “necessary goods and services” during the declared state of emergency.

Winter storm coming to Central Virginia, widespread power outages expected

Items and services covered by these protections include, but are not limited to, water, ice, food, generators, batteries, home repair materials and services and tree removal services.

"The basic test for determining if a price is unconscionable is whether the post-disaster price grossly exceeds the price charged for the same good or services during the ten days immediately prior to the disaster," Jones's office wrote in a release.

During her address to the commonwealth, Spanberger urged Virginians to stay off the roads as of Saturday night through Monday morning.

“The declaration will allow state agencies to be prepared for impacts all across the Commonwealth,” Spanberger explained during the press conference. “We are expecting large amounts of snowfall, freezing rain, and sleet, and we also expect Virginia will experience dangerously low temperatures, power outages and unpredictable road conditions.”

This move comes less than a week after Jones was sworn in as the new attorney general on Saturday, Jan. 17. On his first day in his new position, he announced a sweeping set of legal actions just hours into his new position, including joining lawsuits against the Trump administration and reversing several positions taken by his predecessors.

Days later, on Wednesday, Jan. 21, Jones withdrew from his predecessor Jason Miyares’s (R) previous agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to scrap Virginia’s in-state tuition policies for immigrant and undocumented students. The move came after the DOJ filed a lawsuit against Virginia for providing tuition aid to students regardless of their immigration status in December 2025.