Senate bills up next - quick action needed before Monday afternoon (5 min)

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Quick update: After last week's progressin the House with Delegate JJ Singh's bills, the Senate versions are now moving forward and will be heard in the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee Monday, February 9.

Senator Kannan Srinivasan has been a strong advocate in pushing these issues forward, and we're grateful for his continued support!

Why this matters right now

We need to be honest about what we're up against.

Historically, getting bills like this through the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee has been really difficult, if not impossible.

Dominionand data center industryhave significant influenceand resources.

We don't.

What we do have is the increasing view among the public that the situation has gotten out of control, and the ability to make sure Senators hear directly from constituents that people are demanding real guardrails, transparency, and alternatives as these permanent infrastructure decisions get made.

There are a number of bills before the Committee - and the Legislature in general - that respond to the real-world impacts we're on the front lines of as Virginia grapples with unprecedented load growth and the infrastructure decisions that follow.

Several of these measures could work together to improve outcomes for affected communities and for the Commonwealth going forward.

There are a number of other bills up for the committee tomorrow - we don't want to water down our comments by saying "we want them all" (even though we do).

So we're asking you to submit comments for the three bills Senator Srinivasan has put forth, as well as SB651 sponsored by Senator Russet Perry, that each address this issue in a meaningful way.

If you'd like to review and/or comment on the other bills in front of the Committee tomorrow, you can find them here.

The bills we're asking you to support:

• SB827
• SB651
• SB619
• SB551

Together, these represent reasonable steps toward better siting standards, genuine evaluation of alternatives (including undergrounding where feasible), and a more balanced process.

Please take a few minutes to submit a comment - each comment genuinely makes a difference!

You could probably get it done before the halftime is over

How to help (seriously, it's quick):

Email the committee at: committeeoperations@senate.virginia.gov Subject line: For SB827, SB651, SB619 & SB551, Commerce & Labor ⬆️ subject line is important ⬆️

You don't need to start from scratch - submitting the sample comment below is perfectly fine.

However, it would make more of an impact if you can personalize it with a line about why this matters to you or your neighborhood.

Or use the thing that's accelerating this whole situation for good: throw the comment and a few things to personalize it into an AI chat and ask it to create a custom version for you.

Sample AI prompt:

"I need to personalize this comment for the Virginia Senate Commerce & Labor Committee.

I live in [your neighborhood], and this matters to me because [reason - e.g., 'my kids attend the elementary school near the proposed route' or 'I moved here for the quiet suburban character' or 'I'm concerned about property values'].

Can you help me adapt this template comment to include my perspective while keeping it concise and appropriate for legislative testimony?"

[PASTE TEMPLATE BELOW]

Sample Comment

I am a resident of Loudoun County, Virginia, where our immediate residential community, Loudoun Valley Estates, has become ground zero for the impacts of electric infrastructure being built to serve data center-driven load growth.

We are now facing the prospect of infrastructure typically associated with interstate-scale transmission corridors being routed directly through a residential community - including power lines 185 feet tall or more placed literally in residents' backyards. Homes and schools sit alongside corridors being treated as the cheapest and fastest way to move power between substations.

The data, public records, and common sense all point to the same conclusion: this demand is being driven by data centers. We are not opposed to data centers, and we do not dispute that the electric grid must grow alongside Virginia's economy and its needs. What we are asking for is a common-sense, balanced approach that does not sacrifice long-established communities simply because they lie between two substations.

We are encouraged by the number of bills before this Committee that respond to the real-world impacts communities are facing as Virginia grapples with unprecedented load growth and the infrastructure decisions that follow. Several of these measures can work together to improve outcomes for affected communities and for the Commonwealth going forward. While we are not commenting on every bill before you today, we ask that you consider the strong and growing expectation among constituents across Virginia that the General Assembly address this issue in a meaningful way as you review these bills in totality. We also recognize that well-resourced stakeholders will be strongly represented throughout this process; communities living with the permanent consequences will not be, and we ask you to keep that imbalance in mind.

I urge the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee to support SB827, SB651, SB619, and SB551 as reasonable steps toward guardrails, transparency, and real alternatives that respect both economic growth and the people who live with its consequences.

Thank you for your consideration.