Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who won her election last week, warned on Sunday that the Commonwealth is headed towards an “energy crisis” and called for immediate action to address rising costs, including making large-scale users like the state’s massive concentration of data centers pay their “fair share” for power.
Appearing on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” the governor-elect addressed the nearly 7% increase in power bills Virginia has seen over the past year. While she acknowledged that the current rising costs are not solely driven by the data center boom, she attributed the immediate jump in prices—especially in the southwest region of the state—to external factors.
“There’s… some bad energy policies in some of our neighboring states that have driven up prices, particularly in southwest Virginia,” Spanberger stated.
However, the future requires a more proactive approach, she added. “Looking towards the future, we have to be clear-eyed about the fact that we will have an energy crisis headed into the future,” Spanberger said.
To get ahead of this challenge, the governor-elect outlined a two-pronged approach focused on her recently announced energy affordability plan:
- Fair Pricing for Large Users: Spanberger emphasized the need for transparency in energy consumption, stating that large-scale energy users, “particularly data centers,” must ensure that they “are paying their fair share for the energy that they are using.”
- Increased Energy Production: She also stressed that Virginia must increase its energy production at home to meet the demands of large users and its communities.
This interview was part of a broader conversation with the newly elected governor-elect, who emphasized that her victory was based on a campaign focused on addressing the “challenges that people are facing all across Virginia,” including rising costs in energy, healthcare, and housing.
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