I used 6% less electricity this year. I still paid $444 more.
My usage fell 6% and my Dominion bill still rose $444. Thirty-two bills show how much of that was me, and how much was the rate.
Thirty-two Dominion bills from our house in Virginia Beach, January 2024 through September 2026, including the first full summer with a new variable-speed pool pump and hot tub pumps. The question from the start: is it my usage, or is it Dominion’s rates?
Electric charges, last 12 months vs. the 12 before
It’s the rate. My usage went down, and Dominion’s price more than erased it.
The new pumps did their job. Since they went in on April 11, usage on the same bill windows is down 12% from 2025, through a summer that ran slightly hotter.
Over the same stretch, my price per kWh rose 20%. Across the full 32-bill history it climbed from 12.7¢ to 18.4¢. Every kWh I cut is now worth more, and that’s the only reason the bill didn’t climb further.
The tug of war, in one picture
A bill is price times usage. Hold one still and move the other, and any change splits cleanly into its two causes. Start at the prior year’s total, add what the rate increase cost, subtract what lower usage saved, and you land on this year’s total.
The pumps passed their summer test
On April 11, I replaced the pool pump and hot tub pumps with variable-speed models. The fair way to judge them is the same calendar windows, year over year. Dominion read the meter on nearly identical dates in 2025 and 2026, so the five bills since the install line up one to one.
- usage, five bills since the install vs. the same windows in 2025
- −12%
- less electricity used, Apr 9 to Sep 8
- 1,507 kWh
- saved at today's rate over those five bills
- ~$269
- 2025, old pumps
- 2026, new pumps
The only window where 2026 ran higher is Aug 7 to Sep 8, and it averaged 80°F versus 75°F in 2025. That's air conditioning, not the pool. Across all five windows, 2026 had about 5% more cooling demand than 2025, so the 12% drop is if anything a little understated.
Dominion’s price did the damage
My electric-only cost per kWh rose 18% in a year and about 45% across the full history. Most of the recent climb lines up with three published changes:
- July 1, 2025: an interim fuel rate increase of about $8.92 a month on a typical 1,000 kWh bill. Dominion
- January 1, 2026: the first base-rate increase since 1992, about $11.24 a month on a typical bill. Cardinal News
- July 1, 2026: a fuel factor of 3.7648¢/kWh, charged on an interim basis while the SCC decides the case. InsideNoVA, FXBG Advance
Each summer shows a bump because Dominion charges more for generation above 800 kWh a month from June to September (Virginia Mercury). The year-over-year comparisons in this post always match season to season, so that effect cancels out.
Three summers side by side
The July, August and September bills of each year, matched to the same meter-read windows. Summer 2025 is where usage jumped. Summer 2026 is where the pumps pulled it back down and the rate kept going.
| Summer | kWh | Usage vs. prior | Electric $ | ¢/kWh | Rate vs. prior | Avg temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6,838 | — | $961 | 14.1 | — | 77.0°F |
| 2025 | 8,084 | +18% | $1,244 | 15.4 | +9% | 78.3°F |
| 2026 (new pumps) | 7,534 | −7% | $1,376 | 18.3 | +19% | 78.9°F |
From 2024 to 2026, my summer usage is up 10% but my summer electric cost is up 43%. Rate alone accounts for about $288 of that $415 increase.
Every bill on the record
Show all 32 bills
| Statement | Meter period | Days | kWh | kWh/day | Avg temp | Electric | ¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 9, 2026 | Aug 7 to Sep 8 | 32 | 2,627 | 82.1 | 80°F | $483.90 | 18.4 |
| Aug 10, 2026 | Jul 9 to Aug 7 | 29 | 2,486 | 85.7 | 78.3°F | $458.69 | 18.5 |
| Jul 10, 2026 | Jun 9 to Jul 9 | 30 | 2,421 | 80.7 | 78.2°F | $433.42 | 17.9 |
| Jun 10, 2026 | May 8 to Jun 9 | 32 | 2,092 | 65.4 | 68.9°F | $369.28 | 17.7 |
| May 11, 2026 | Apr 9 to May 8 | 29 | 1,802 | 62.1 | 61.8°F | $295.42 | 16.4 |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Mar 10 to Apr 9 | 30 | 1,799 | 60.0 | 56.7°F | $296.10 | 16.5 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | Feb 9 to Mar 10 | 29 | 1,794 | 61.9 | 46.3°F | $295.41 | 16.5 |
| Feb 10, 2026 | Jan 9 to Feb 9 | 31 | 2,604 | 84.0 | 36.6°F | $417.84 | 16.0 |
| Jan 10, 2026 | Dec 8 to Jan 9 | 32 | 2,430 | 75.9 | 42.4°F | $374.61 | 15.4 |
| Dec 9, 2025 | Nov 5 to Dec 8 | 33 | 2,407 | 72.9 | 51.1°F | $364.70 | 15.2 |
| Nov 6, 2025 | Oct 7 to Nov 5 | 29 | 2,161 | 74.5 | 60.8°F | $330.69 | 15.3 |
| Oct 8, 2025 | Sep 8 to Oct 7 | 29 | 2,166 | 74.7 | 70.1°F | $331.64 | 15.3 |
| Sep 9, 2025 | Aug 7 to Sep 8 | 32 | 2,441 | 76.3 | 74.9°F | $385.17 | 15.8 |
| Aug 8, 2025 | Jul 9 to Aug 7 | 29 | 2,726 | 94.0 | 80.2°F | $423.69 | 15.5 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | Jun 9 to Jul 9 | 30 | 2,917 | 97.2 | 80°F | $435.08 | 14.9 |
| Jun 10, 2025 | May 8 to Jun 9 | 32 | 2,517 | 78.7 | 68.8°F | $371.53 | 14.8 |
| May 9, 2025 | Apr 8 to May 8 | 30 | 2,334 | 77.8 | 63.4°F | $313.68 | 13.4 |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Mar 10 to Apr 8 | 29 | 1,585 | 54.7 | 58.4°F | $217.59 | 13.7 |
| Mar 11, 2025 | Feb 7 to Mar 10 | 31 | 2,209 | 71.3 | 43.7°F | $295.19 | 13.4 |
| Feb 10, 2025 | Jan 8 to Feb 7 | 30 | 3,319 | 110.6 | 38.2°F | $433.25 | 13.1 |
| Jan 9, 2025 | Dec 7 to Jan 8 | 32 | 2,578 | 80.6 | 45.8°F | $338.27 | 13.1 |
| Dec 9, 2024 | Nov 5 to Dec 7 | 32 | 2,365 | 73.9 | 52.8°F | $313.50 | 13.3 |
| Nov 6, 2024 | Oct 7 to Nov 5 | 29 | 1,623 | 56.0 | 61.9°F | $224.26 | 13.8 |
| Oct 8, 2024 | Sep 6 to Oct 7 | 31 | 1,876 | 60.5 | 71.1°F | $256.28 | 13.7 |
| Sep 9, 2024 | Aug 7 to Sep 6 | 30 | 2,230 | 74.3 | 74.9°F | $312.25 | 14.0 |
| Aug 8, 2024 | Jul 9 to Aug 7 | 29 | 2,286 | 78.8 | 79.2°F | $311.56 | 13.6 |
| Jul 10, 2024 | Jun 7 to Jul 9 | 32 | 2,322 | 72.6 | 77.1°F | $337.56 | 14.5 |
| Jun 10, 2024 | May 8 to Jun 7 | 30 | 1,541 | 51.4 | 68°F | $225.32 | 14.6 |
| May 9, 2024 | Apr 9 to May 8 | 29 | 1,276 | 44.0 | 62.8°F | $174.34 | 13.7 |
| Apr 10, 2024 | Mar 8 to Apr 9 | 32 | 1,573 | 49.2 | 52.5°F | $209.10 | 13.3 |
| Mar 11, 2024 | Feb 8 to Mar 8 | 29 | 1,524 | 52.6 | 47.9°F | $199.85 | 13.1 |
| Feb 9, 2024 | Jan 9 to Feb 8 | 30 | 2,012 | 67.1 | 44.1°F | $255.22 | 12.7 |
Green edge marks bills covering new-pump days (installed April 11, 2026).
What comes next
- Enroll in Dominion’s off-peak plan. A variable-speed pump running low and slow overnight is the ideal load to shift.
- Watch the winter. The pumps matter less there, so holding 68°F has to carry the savings.
- Follow the SCC deferred-fuel decision. It sets the next increase.
How I did this
Bills and usage: Dominion billing history, January 2024 to September 2026. Each statement is paired with the meter read one to two days before it. Usage is the actual meter-read kWh for that period, not an estimate.
What counts as the electric bill: the “Current Bill” line plus any “Deferred Fuel Cost Charge” lines. The HomeServe line-protection plan billed on the same statement is excluded because it isn’t electricity.
Decomposition: rate effect = (new rate − old rate) × old kWh. Usage effect = new rate × (new kWh − old kWh). The two add to the full change.
Weather: Virginia Beach daily mean temperature from Open-Meteo, summed into cooling and heating degree-days (65°F base) for each bill period. The last 12 months had 9% more heating demand and about the same cooling demand as the prior 12, so the 6% usage drop came despite a colder winter.
Not adjusted for: the one-time $4.08 biennial review credit in August 2024, and any behavior changes beyond the pumps.
Single-household data, not representative of any other Dominion customer. Rate context from Dominion and Virginia State Corporation Commission filings as reported by Cardinal News, InsideNoVA, FXBG Advance and Virginia Mercury.