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In Virginia this spring, a bill directing state energy regulators and utilities to squeeze more out of the existing grid sailed through the legislative process, and was signed into law last month. It will take effect on July 1.
That bill, part of Governor Abigail Spanberger’s “Affordable Virginia Agenda,” enjoyed a quick turnaround in part due to Democrats’ supermajority in the state; it passed the House with nearly unanimous bipartisan support, but was met with a party-line split in the Senate. But it also reflected a broader political inflection point, as rising electricity prices and the demands of the AI boom have made energy a front-burner issue for voters, creating rare bipartisan momentum for grid utilization efforts.
In California, which has some of the highest electricity prices in the country, proponents are rallying support for legislation that would push utilities toward greater utilization over the default of expensive new build-outs.
In part because of the state’s massive data center footprint, Virginia’s grid operates at a higher utilization rate than California’s, explained Arnab Pal, executive director of Deploy Action, which is championing the bill: “So I would say the potential for benefits is greater in California than in Virginia,” he said.
