SCC takes public testimony on proposed Dominion rate hikes

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Some Virginia residents are criticizing Dominion Energy.

“They pad their already full pockets by spiking hardworking Virginians’ bills by 100’s of dollars a year, pushing families and retired folks in my community off the edge into financial collapse,” Dumfries resident Crystal Franklin told the State Corporation Commission (SCC) on Tuesday. 

At that meeting, members of the public urged the commission to reject Dominion’s bid to raise customers’ electric bills. 

The company is asking regulators to approve a base rate increase for the average residential customer of $8.51 per month in 2026, and an additional $2 per month increase in 2027. 

Plus, Dominion is also asking the SCC to green-light a fuel cost increase of $10.92 per month compared to customers' January 2025 bill. The SCC already approved part of that increase ($8.92) on an interim basis starting in July 2025.

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“My bill will go up an additional $20 per month. $20 might not seem a lot to the Dominion CEO, but they make over $12 million a year, but for me it’s massive,” VCU student Seattle Ferguson told the SCC. 

However, Dominion says that the rate increases are necessary because generating and delivering electricity has become more expensive over the years. Plus, the company says monthly electric bills in Virginia will remain below the national average, even with the increases. 

"So the cost of all the fuel that we have to purchase for our power plants, and the cost of the power that we have to purchase from other companies to serve our customers, those costs have significantly increased. Number two, there have been significant increases in the costs of all the critical materials and equipment that we have to buy to generate and deliver your electricity,” Aaron Ruby, Dominion’s Director of Virginia & Offshore Wind Media, told 8News. 

The hearing is expected to last several days, and the SCC will have until December to decide whether or not to approve Dominion’s rate increase requests.