Dominion Billing Demystified (Virginia)

If your Dominion bill feels like it’s written in another language, you’re not crazy. It’s not simply kWh × a rate. It’s a stack of charges coming from different buckets — fixed costs, delivery, fuel, and riders — which is why two homes can use the same amount of electricity and still pay very different totals.

Below is a clear way to read your bill — without needing a finance degree.

1) The Four Buckets That Make Up Most Dominion Bills

Dominion provides a detailed explanation of each bill section on its official “Understand My Bill” page, which breaks down line items one by one. This guide is a higher-level overview of how everything fits together.

A) Fixed Monthly Charge (You Pay This Even If You Use 0 kWh)

Dominion’s residential rate schedule includes a Basic Customer Charge — a fixed monthly fee that applies regardless of how much electricity you use.

(Source)

B) Delivery Charges (Getting Power to Your House)

These charges cover the infrastructure that delivers electricity to your home — poles, wires, transformers, and maintenance. Even if electricity itself were free, delivery would still cost money.

(Source)

C) Supply / Fuel-Related Charges (Producing the Electricity)

This portion reflects the cost of generating electricity, including fuel costs. Fuel charges are updated periodically and can change independently of your usage.

(Source)

D) Riders & Adjustments (Project- and Policy-Related Line Items)

Virginia utilities recover certain costs through riders, which appear as separate line items on your bill. These may relate to grid upgrades, renewable energy programs, or regulatory requirements approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC).

(Virginia Gov)

(Rates & Tariffs)

2) Why Your Bill Can Jump Even When Your Usage Doesn’t

Common reasons your bill may increase without a noticeable lifestyle change include:

• Rate changes approved by the SCC (base rates or riders)
  
  (Virginia Gov)
  
  
  

• Fuel factor adjustments, which can fluctuate seasonally or year to year
  
  (Paying My Bill)
  
  

  
  
  

• Billing cycle length (a 33-day bill will almost always cost more than a 28-day bill)
  
  
  

• Seasonal or tiered pricing structures depending on your rate schedule
  
  (Residential Rates)
  
  
  

3) “Cost per kWh” — How to Calculate It in 10 Seconds

Dominion shows your electricity usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Your effective cost per kWh can be calculated quickly:

Total bill amount ÷ total kWh used = effective $/kWh

This gives you an all-in view of what you’re paying for electricity during that billing period.

If you want a more focused energy-only view, you can divide only the usage-based charges (energy, fuel, and applicable riders) by your kWh and exclude fixed fees. Dominion explains how it calculates “average daily cost” using similar logic.

(Understand My Bill)

4) How This Changes With Solar (Net Metering Overview)

If you install solar and participate in Dominion’s net metering program, your meter tracks two things:

• electricity you pull from the grid

• electricity your solar system sends back
  
  
  

Your bill is based on the net difference over the billing period.

(Net Metering)

A few important points people often miss:

• Fixed monthly charges still apply, even with solar

• A very low bill month doesn’t automatically mean poor solar production — it may simply mean your system covered most of your usage

• Net excess generation can carry forward as credits, depending on your situation
  
  

This article focuses on pre-solar billing. We’ll cover how to read a Dominion bill after solar — including credit carryovers and seasonal production differences — in a separate, dedicated guide.

5) Comparing Solar to Dominion Bills (Why Cost per kWh Matters)

When evaluating solar — especially solar leases, which are now the most common residential option — the cleanest comparison is still cost per kWh.

Ask one simple question first:

What is my effective Dominion $/kWh today, and how does that compare to the solar $/kWh being offered?

With lease-based solar:

• You’re paying for energy, not equipment

• Ownership-based incentives (like tax credits) are handled by the system owner

• Pricing is structured around predictable energy costs rather than system payback
  
  

This makes cost-per-kWh comparisons especially useful, because they align closely with how your Dominion bill already works.

Quick Takeaway

Dominion billing isn’t mysterious — it’s layered.

Once you separate your bill into:

1. fixed charges

2. delivery

3. supply/fuel

4. riders and adjustments
   
   

it becomes much easier to understand what actually changed from month to month and why your bill moved.

Want More Detail?

Dominion’s “Understand My Bill” page lets you explore each section of your bill in more depth, line by line.

(Understand My Bill)

If you’d like help translating a real bill into plain English, you can always start by reviewing it alongside these categories.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Rates, riders, and policies are subject to change. Always consult official Dominion Energy and Virginia SCC sources for the most current information.