As election nears, Democrats campaign on high utility bills, energy plans
Clean Virginia’s “The Energy Bills are Too Damn High” tour of the state stopped in Richmond Thursday night. It was promoted as a way to allow community members to hear from Democratic elected officials and candidates about how they want to address rising utility bills in coming legislative sessions. It ultimately was a rally for Democrats leading into Election Day.
“I implore the utility companies, elected officials and regulators to maintain electricity rates that every Virginian, regardless of their finances can afford,” said Hope Elliot, a Richmond community advocate.
The event kicked off with a discussion between Clean Virginia’s Executive Director Brennan Gilmore and state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, about legislation and regulations that have been proposed in the General Assembly. The senator said one of the most pressing issues facing the legislature is how to manage data center growth which is putting a strain on the energy grid. He pointed to gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger’s stance in the Oct. 9 gubernatorial debate that data centers need to pay a fair amount of the energy infrastructure costs.
“They need to pay their fair share. But it needs to be more than that, it needs to be about energy standards and tying them to energy standards so they’re not using so damn much energy,” VanValkenburg said. “I think we really need to be thinking about if we are going to be a home for them. … We need to figure out how we’re going to make up our energy deficit.”
https://virginiamercury.com/2025/10/20/as-election-nears-democrats-campaign-on-high-utility-bills-energy-plans/