RICHMOND, Va. – A new report by state regulators found that Virginia’s biggest electric utility earned $277 million in excessive profits last year and warns of potentially huge bill increases for the monopoly’s customers in the future.
The State Corporation Commission said in a report released Thursday that Dominion Energy’s planned capital investments over the next five years could increase residential customers’ bill by 26 percent. That would add $29 more a month for a typical customer.
Dominion has said several factors may mitigate potential rate increases, including lower fuel costs driven by cheap natural gas and renewable energy.
Dominion helped write legislation in 2018 giving the company increased flexibility in accounting for costs that virtually guarantee its rates can’t go down, even if regulators say profits are too high.
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