Why would a company invest billions of dollars in a state that cannot guarantee enough electricity to operate, much less expand?
For months, I’ve been discussing Virginia’s energy future here in Richmond, our state capital, with policymakers, business leaders and listeners to my morning radio show. I’ve also shared my perspective through opinion columns published across the commonwealth. From Northern Virginia to Southwest Virginia, every community has a stake in this debate. This isn’t simply about today’s electricity bills. It’s about the economy our children and grandchildren will inherit.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s newly released energy plan brings those questions into focus. And the answers matter far beyond Virginia.
Northern Virginia’s data centers support America’s digital economy. Richmond needs dependable electricity for its residents, employers and government institutions. Hampton Roads depends on power for its ports and military installations. Southwest Virginia needs competitively priced electricity to attract industry. Rural communities need reliable service and infrastructure that can accommodate new businesses.
Will every region have enough affordable electricity to support its future?
Spanberger’s plan emphasizes solar generation, battery storage, energy efficiency and demand flexibility in the near term, alongside transmission improvements and longer-term nuclear development.
These resources have different capabilities. But the question is whether sufficient dependable generation and transmission infrastructure can be built quickly enough to support economic growth.
The regional warning signs are already visible.
In December, PJM, the grid operator serving Virginia and 12 other states, reported that its auction for electricity capacity in 2027-28 fell 6,623 megawatts short of its reliability requirement. Forecast demand was growing faster than new resources were entering the market.
That is not a prediction of blackouts. It is evidence of a regional infrastructure challenge that demands attention.
Virginia’s plan includes demand flexibility, encouraging major electricity users to reduce or shift consumption during peak periods.
Demand management can lower costs and prevent emergencies. But how much of our economic future should depend on businesses being able to reduce electricity consumption when the grid is under pressure?
Imagine a company considering a multibillion-dollar manufacturing facility. It needs confidence that sufficient electricity will be available when construction is completed. It also needs to know additional capacity will exist when it wants to double production.
What happens if that expansion coincides with a regional heat wave or winter storm? What if new power plants and transmission lines are delayed?
For some businesses, shifting electricity consumption is relatively easy. For others, interrupting production can be enormously expensive.
California’s August 2020 rotating outages offer a warning about insufficient dependable electricity during extreme conditions. Its official investigation identified extraordinary heat, inadequate resource planning and electricity-market practices as contributing factors.
Virginia faces different circumstances. But the lesson about planning for the most demanding hours applies everywhere.
And infrastructure failures aren’t hypothetical.
In January 2025, a power failure at Richmond’s water treatment plant escalated into a regional emergency. An independent investigation identified equipment problems, inadequate redundancy and operational deficiencies. Corrective investments followed.
As we covered the crisis on the radio, I kept returning to one question: What would it have taken to address those vulnerabilities before thousands of people lost access to something so essential?
Electricity deserves the same foresight.
What if states approached energy infrastructure by imagining the economy they want in 2076 and working backward?
How much dependable generation will future industries require? Which transmission corridors must be secured? How will communities accommodate new infrastructure? Who pays, and when must construction begin?
Virginia’s plan contains extensive modeling and identifies transmission needs. The next step is demonstrating how those projections translate into financed projects, construction milestones and measurable progress.
The administration collected thousands of survey responses while developing its plan. Public engagement matters, but residents in every region also need answers about how their future electricity requirements will be met.
This is bigger than one governor or one state. America’s ambitions in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and economic development depend on infrastructure that takes years — and sometimes decades — to build.
Fifty years from now, our grandchildren will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions.
Will they look back at 2026 and thank us for preparing their economy to grow? Or will they ask why we saw electricity demand rising and failed to build the infrastructure they needed?
Rich Herrera hosts “Richmond’s Morning News with Rich Herrera” on NewsRadio WRVA. He is a cable news contributor and published opinion writer whose commentary has appeared in The Hill, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and newspapers across Virginia. He can be reached through rich4america.com.
