The 2026 Report Card for Virginia's Infrastructure, released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), gave the state's energy system a D, the lowest of its 13 graded categories and below the national D+ average for energy. It is the first time ASCE has included energy in its Virginia assessment, and the grade reflects a widening gap between electricity demand and the pace at which new generation, transmission and distribution capacity can be added. Dominion Energy CEO Robert Blue has said the utility expects power demand in its Virginia territory to double by 2039, driven in large part by the state's concentration of data centers.
Commercial Electricity Sales in Virginia Grew Nearly 30 Million MWh Since 2019
Federal data back up ASCE's concern. Commercial electricity sales in Virginia increased by nearly 30 million megawatt-hours between 2019 and 2025, faster growth than in any state except Texas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), which credits much of the increase to the state's data center concentration, building electrification and electric vehicle adoption. Peak demand is climbing just as fast. Summer peak load in PJM Interconnection's Dominion zone reached 23,905 MW in 2025, 23% higher than in 2019, while winter peak load hit 25,413 MW in the 2025-26 season, up 45% from 2019-20. PJM now projects summer peak demand in the Dominion zone will grow by an average of 5.4% annually over the next decade, and expects the zone to see the largest absolute increase in summer peak demand of any PJM territory through 2030.
Virginia Remains the Nation's Largest Net Importer of Electricity
Virginia's ability to meet that demand also depends heavily on power generated elsewhere. The state remains the nation's largest net importer of electricity, with roughly a third of its demand brought in from outside its borders, according to figures cited by ASCE Virginia leadership. ASCE highlighted that reliance in assigning the D grade, while also noting that utilities are planning additional generation, transmission and distribution assets; its core concern is that anticipated demand is growing faster than currently planned expansion. Virginia is adding resources: state reporting shows utilities placed roughly 2,340 MW of solar and wind capacity into service between July 2018 and June 2025, and state policymakers have already begun adjusting how data center electricity costs get allocated as the buildout accelerates.
Bridges and Broadband Led the Rest of Virginia's Report Card
Virginia's overall C grade was unchanged from 2022, and several other categories improved. Bridges and broadband earned the state's highest marks at B+, solid waste received a B, drinking water and rail came in at C+, and roads, public parks and stormwater held at C. Dams and transit received C-, while schools and wastewater were graded D+. ASCE said categories receiving consistent funding have generally shown stronger improvement, though it warned that momentum could become harder to sustain as Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding winds down.
Virginia's electricity system is not simply replacing aging infrastructure, it is trying to expand power infrastructure while demand moves upward faster than most of the rate structures built to fund that expansion were designed to handle. The D grade puts a number on a constraint utilities and large energy users are already navigating, one that increasingly determines how quickly a Virginia project can actually get connected once it clears permitting: how fast the state's power system can grow alongside the demand it is trying to serve.
