Independent public-records reporting

Documents first. Claims labeled. Corrections public.

Unmarked Desk

The record is public. The pattern is not.

Follow the Money

Virginia received $26 million in its first data-center electricity-tax remittance

The State Corporation Commission says $26 million arrived in the initial remittance of Virginia’s new data-center electricity tax. Its roughly $100 million July-August calculation reflects billing-cycle timing, the agency says.

By Unmarked Desk
Reporting standardThis article distinguishes documented facts, analysis, disputed claims, and unresolved questions. Primary records are linked where practical.

Virginia’s State Corporation Commission says it received $26,007,117.46 in the first remittance of the state’s new data-center electricity-consumption tax, while its calculation for July and August consumption came to $99,990,557. The difference is a timing issue in the first collection cycle, the agency said, not a project-by-project finding about what any operator owes.

In an October 20 presentation to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, the commission’s Public Service Taxation Division said it calculated the tax on 9,090,050,652 kilowatt-hours of July and August consumption at $0.011 per kWh. It said utilities, cooperatives and self-supplied operators had remitted $26,007,117.46 by the initial reporting period.[1]

Original Unmarked Desk editorial data graphic showing Virginia’s $26 million initial data-center electricity-tax remittance alongside the SCC’s roughly $100 million calculation for July and August consumption. It illustrates a statewide collection-timing report, not local project revenue.
Original Unmarked Desk editorial data graphic. It shows the State Corporation Commission’s initial remittance and calculated July-August tax; it does not show a local tax bill, a collection failure or project-specific revenue.

Why the initial amount was lower

The presentation says utilities and cooperatives use as many as 22 billing cycles. Bills can be generated up to 30 days after the usage period, then are due about 25 to 27 days later. Providers remit tax collected during the preceding month. The first remittance was received September 23, and the agency said payments mailed near the September 30 due date arrived in early October.[1]

The commission expects the difference between the calculated July-August tax and the initial receipts to be remitted in October and November. That is an agency expectation, not confirmation that the later remittances have arrived or that full-year receipts will meet any forecast.[1]

What the law says

Item 3-5.24 in Virginia’s enacted 2026 budget imposes the $0.011-per-kWh tax on qualifying data-center operators from July 1, 2026, until before July 1, 2028. It sets a $600 million annual general-fund deposit limit and directs excess revenue, after the commission’s administrative costs, to a fund for later refunds under the statute.[2]

The tax is statewide. It is not a new local levy or a payment promised to Roanoke-area governments.

Local context, not a local revenue estimate

The statewide collections report is relevant as data-center proposals are considered in the Roanoke region. Roanoke County says Google is evaluating Wood Haven Technology Park, but the county also says the purchase agreement is still in due diligence and is not a completed sale.[3] The SCC presentation does not establish electricity use, tax liability, opening date, local revenue, incentives or infrastructure costs for Wood Haven or any other individual project.

The next measurable state-level update is whether the October and November remittances reconcile with the commission’s initial July-August calculation.

Sources

  1. Virginia State Corporation Commission, “Data Center Electricity Consumption Tax,” October 20, 2026.
  2. Virginia Budget, Item 3-5.24, Data Center Electricity Consumption Tax.
  3. Roanoke County, Wood Haven Technology Park information page.

Source note: Based on the Virginia State Corporation Commission’s October 20, 2026 presentation and Virginia’s enacted 2026 budget, Item 3-5.24; checked October 21, 2026. Roanoke County’s Wood Haven page is included for local context. Graphic: original Unmarked Desk editorial data graphic.