Scope
Item 3-5.24 of the 2026 Special Session I appropriation act (budget bill HB 30, chapter version) levies on every data center operator, on and after 1 July 2026 but before 1 July 2028, an electricity consumption tax of $0.011 per kWh of all electricity consumed at each data center per month, whether utility-supplied or self-supplied, collected monthly by the State Corporation Commission; fiscal-year revenue above $600 million goes to a fund for pro rata refunds to data center operators. It defines "data center" and excludes facilities whose primary function is internet access or communication service.
- Geographic scope
- Virginia
- Jurisdiction
- State
- Authority type
- Legislature
- Issuing authority
- Virginia General Assembly
Dates
- Adopted
- No adoption day is recorded
- Effective
- 1 July 2026
- Scheduled expiration
- See completion condition
- Ended
- Not recorded as ended
- Completion condition
- The Item levies the tax on and after 1 July 2026 but before 1 July 2028; no other end date is stated.
- Source document
- The source page states no document date
- Last checked
- 23 September 2026 (earlier than tracker date 5 October 2026; not an automatic status change)
Summary
The 2026 Special Session I budget (HB 30, Item 3-5.24) imposes a Data Center Electricity Consumption Tax of $0.011 per kWh on all electricity consumed at each data center, beginning 1 July 2026 and applying before 1 July 2028. Utilities and other suppliers list the tax on the operator’s bill; self-supplied electricity is reported and paid directly. The State Corporation Commission collects it monthly, with the first collection in September 2026 covering the period from 1 July through 1 September 2026. Revenue above $600 million in a fiscal year funds refunds to data center operators in proportion to what they paid.
What this does not establish
- The budget portal page did not print the approval date of the 2026 Special Session I appropriation act, so no adoption date is stored.
- Item E directs the State Corporation Commission to issue guidelines; those guidelines were not opened.
- Budget amendments made after the chapter version shown on the portal, if any, were not searched.
- Dominion Energy Virginia’s filed tariff sheet that collects this tax is a separate record.
Unresolved questions
None recorded.
Relationships
Supersession means a later instrument replaces the earlier legal effect. Repeal links identify the repeal instrument and the measure it ends. A later implementation or related letter is not treated as a replacement unless the record says so.
- No related action is recorded.
Sources
https://budget.lis.virginia.gov/item/2026/2/HB30/Chapter/3/3-5.24/
- Office of the Governor news release, 6 July 2026 Governor describes the consumption tax created in the budget · 6 July 2026