Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced a statewide public input process was launched to inform the 2026 Virginia Energy Plan (VEP), a ten-year roadmap for how the Commonwealth will focus on contending with high energy costs while growing energy demand, strengthening reliability and resilience for households and businesses, and continuing to move toward a net-zero economy. Led by the Virginia Department of Energy (Virginia Energy), the plan will draw on a coordinated, holistic effort spanning multiple secretariats and state agencies to reflect the full scope of challenges and opportunities facing Virginia’s energy future.
“Energy costs are too high for too many Virginia families, and with demand on our grid rising faster than it has in generations, we must make energy more affordable and more secure,” said Spanberger. “But our energy future should not — must not — just be written in Richmond. I want to hear from Virginians across every corner of the Commonwealth, and I encourage everyone who pays an energy bill in Virginia to make their voice heard.”
Virginians can share their perspectives through a public input survey, now open. The survey will remain open through July 31, 2026.
Alongside the public survey, Virginia Energy is hosting regional meetings across the Commonwealth and conducting targeted engagement with state agencies, utilities, industry representatives, advocacy organizations, local governments, and community organizations through virtual stakeholder sessions through late June.
Because energy touches every part of state government, the 2026 VEP is being developed in coordination with secretariats across the administration:
• Agriculture and Forestry will elevate the voices of farmers, forest landowners, and rural communities, ensuring the plan reflects rural energy needs and the opportunities of land use and bioenergy.
• The Department of Health and Human Resources will bring a focus on affordability and public health, ensuring the plan supports home energy security for low-income and vulnerable Virginians.
• The Department of Environmental Quality will bring expertise on air and water quality and environmental justice, ensuring the plan accounts for the health and pollution burdens that energy infrastructure can place on overburdened communities.
• The Department of Natural and Historic Resources will bring expertise on environmental quality, conservation, and resilience, ensuring the plan weighs the protection of land, water, and cultural and historic resources as new energy infrastructure is sited and built.
• The Department of Transportation will bring perspective on how Virginians and goods move, ensuring the plan accounts for transportation energy, electrification, and the fueling and charging infrastructure the Commonwealth’s economy depends on.
To learn more, sign up for updates, and participate in the 2026 Virginia Energy Plan process, all Virginians are encouraged to visit energy.virginia.gov/va-energy-plan.
