Annual Meeting Remarks on Data Centers

President and CEO Greg Rogers' annual meeting remarks from Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026.

For 90 years, there has been one constant at SVEC: We adapt to industry changes while keeping the best interests of our members in mind.

The same holds true for a topic dominating headlines today.

If you have grown tired of hearing about data centers, my remarks are unfortunately not for you.

But the annual meeting is not just a time for our cooperative to practice good governance and affirm our operating principles.

It is also importantly a time to review what are or may have become priority issues for us.

One of these and certainly not least among them is the service to very large demand members such as data centers or hyper-scale manufacturing.

There have been few economic development projects in recent memory that have gained the attention and scrutiny that data centers have.

In the past year, the prospect of data centers expanding their footprint in the Shenandoah Valley has garnered considerable interest.

The role of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative in planning for the possibility of these types of very large demand loads is critical for both the ability for us to deliver the power required and, most importantly, planning to do so in a way that protects the rest of the grid and our members from outsized risk.

SVEC does this alongside our wholesale power supply cooperative, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which shares in our commitment to ensuring that the costs and risks associated with large commercial customers, such as data centers, fall on the responsibility of the customer that causes them — not on existing cooperative member-consumers.

First, a reminder to everyone, Virginia regulates electric utilities to ensure they not only serve all customers but serve them in the most equitable way possible.

How that service looks or is perceived by Virginians everywhere is as varied as our landscape, but an important step in equitable service to consumer classes is to align electric rates and costs equitably with demand.

Very large customers, like data centers, have caused SVEC to approach them as a new consumer class and uniquely as members who will pay wholly for the dedicated service they require.

Except for a small amount of transmission lines on the Virginia portion of the Delmarva Peninsula, our wholesale provider, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative mentioned earlier, does not own or operate transmission infrastructure within its members’ territory and therefore does not control those costs.

However, ODEC, like SVEC, remains focused on what it can manage, including securing reliable, affordable power supply.

Our cooperative has received approval, through an interim order, from the Virginia State Corporation Commission to charge very large members for the entire cost of the substations and electric service lines they will need and continue to pay for the maintenance and operation of those facilities.

We have also received approval, in the same interim order from the Commission, to charge these members a rate and secure collateral to separate their energy needs from the rest of our members and preserve the reliability and financial security our members have had and continue to expect.

As part of the review process for this tariff, Commission staff found the proposal to be a reasonable measure to insulate existing consumers from financial burdens and rate pressures imposed on them by new large load consumers. It includes additional provisions to appropriately position SVEC to serve the growing needs of large load consumers in Virginia.

SVEC works closely with our localities and prospective members when plans are revealed that require coordination on many levels to guarantee electric service.

This includes local governments, the transmission system operators and our generation providers.

People can become concerned over the conversations in the planning process that happen privately, and they can even appear to some as nefarious.

While this is understandable when combined with the greater uncertainty very large demand electric customers present all of us, please remember these protected conversations are had to allow prospective businesses and localities to decide how they may fit together.

Our obligation to serve everyone remains and we do not advocate for or against anyone choosing to work or live in the Valley.

I certainly understand the concern for the unknown, especially the fear of less reliability of the electric grid that we both rely on and expect to be there for us every hour of every day all year long.

Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative knows and understands the business of reliable electric service, and it continues to be our commitment to provide safe reliable electric service at the best possible value for the next 90 years as it has for the past 90 years.

We welcome questions you might have on this topic or anything else that is a matter of cooperative business.

I encourage you to stay informed by reading our magazine, email newsletters and visiting our website.

I would be remiss to complete my remarks without acknowledging the tremendous work of our employees.

On the front lines or behind the scenes, rain or shine, it takes widespread coordination to keep the lights on and, most importantly, to make sure everyone goes home safely each day.

No matter the member we serve, large or small, I can attest that our employees are second to none in providing exemplary service.

I hope you’ve had positive interactions with the cooperative and your engagement with SVEC continues beyond this evening.