‘Almost as much as my rent:’ Dominion customers shocked by surging energy bill

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) — Utility customers are reporting dramatically higher bills this month, with some saying their costs doubled or tripled compared to typical amounts.

Amanda Simpson, a single mother of two who works six days a week, said she received a $797 utility bill from Dominion Energy for January. The bill is triple her typical $250 bill for this time of year.

“That is almost as much as my rent,” she said. “I work my hardest to keep a roof over our heads, you know, and if we lose electricity, I mean we can’t stay in our home,” Simpson said.

Dominion Energy spokesman Craig Carper said the freezing and sustained cold weather last month caused the increases that many of their customers are seeing.

“What we’re experiencing now is the coldest January that we’ve seen in more than 15 years. And as the whole three-week period, it’s the longest sustained period of extreme cold that we’ve seen in this area since the 1940s,” Carper said.

The cold weather forces utilities to work harder even if the homeowner didn’t touch their thermostat, according to Carper.

“The teens will stress your system,” he said.

Simpson said she is doing everything she can to keep costs down.

“Every light goes out at night. We’re not home during the day,” she said.

Jeff Labrecque, owner of Koala Insulation of Richmond, said his company has seen an influx of calls from people looking to make their energy usage more efficient.

“We’re going to start in your crawl space and look for trouble areas there whether it’s moisture, rodents, old insulation and look for ways we can improve that to make it a little bit more along the lines of the temperature of your entire house. The next biggest place we’re going to look into is your attic, a lot of heat and cold air escapes from the attic,” Labrecque said.

Homeowners can change their lightbulbs to LEDs and weather strip their doors to save money, he said. But hiring a professional can provide a more thorough assessment and fix that could be worth it long term.

“I would venture to guess up to 40% to 60% savings on your energy bill depending on when your home was built and how bad it is,” Labrecque said.

Simpson said she is determined to keep the lights on for her children.

“My children are my biggest priority. And our house is my biggest priority, because that’s where they feel safe. That’s where their bed is, that’s where they lay their head. If we don’t have heat, or electricity. We’re going to be homeless,” she said.

Dominion officials said they are hopeful that February bills will be lower since the weather has been warmer.

Copyright 2026 WWBT. All rights reserved.