Henrico County, Home to 37 Data Centers, Tells Government Workers to Cut Electricity Use
Henrico County, Virginia — host to 37 data centers, including a Meta facility built in 2017, with 17 more planned — faces a 25% electricity rate increase starting July 1, 2026, adding an estimated $5 million to next fiscal year's costs. County Manager John Vithoulkas emailed thousands of employees on June 26 asking them to turn off lights and computers and limit space heater use, a sign that the electricity bill for hyperscale data-center growth is now landing on local government budgets.
Source: 404media.co ↗
Beginning July 1st, the rate we pay for electricity used in all Henrico County government and school facilities will increase dramatically — by 25%, increasing costs by an estimated $5 million next fiscal year.
John Vithoulkas, Henrico County Manager
Why this matters
- → Data center boom directly inflates public sector electricity costs by $5M annually
- → Local governments absorbing infrastructure costs of hyperscale tech expansion
- → Pattern suggests strain on public budgets as AI/cloud demand concentrates regionally
Data centers' hidden bill