Virginia Moves to Ban Secret AI Data Center Deals as Neighbors Fight Rising Power Bills

Virginia's governor wants to ban the secret contracts that let AI data centers hide from the neighbors who pay the power bill.

Abigail Spanberger announced a Data Center Accountability Framework on 18 September 2026, aimed at the energy-hungry server warehouses stacking up across the state and the hit those sites put on household bills and the environment, Reuters reported. Part of the package still needs approval from state legislators in 2027.

Virginia already hosts the world's largest concentration of data centers. The plan would ban nondisclosure agreements on projects of 25 megawatts or more, tighten permitting, commercial and environmental controls, and offer incentives for solar and wind backup generators instead of natural gas or diesel.

"Community members are demanding action," Spanberger said. Governors in New York, Texas and Pennsylvania have taken similar recent steps against rapid data-center expansion for AI training and rollout.

The state move sits next to a separate federal fight over who pays for the electricity, the House Ratepayer Protection Act on data-center power costs. That bill is not this framework.