Electric, water, and sewer rates increased, while the Power Cost Adjustment rose sharply
2-Minute Brief
What happened: Manassas residents opening their summer utility bills are seeing several sharp increases this month.
For FY2027, the City increased its base electric rate by 10.5%, residential water rates by 25%, and sewer rates by about 3%. The electric increase does not include the separate Power Cost Adjustment, or PCA, and sewer bills also include a separate UOSA wastewater-treatment charge.
The Manassas Journal reviewed comparable summer 2025 and 2026 bills from three households in different Manassas neighborhoods.
The households used very different amounts of electricity and water, but all faced the higher rates.
Household 1: Daily electricity use increased about 38%, while electric charges increased 92%. The total City utility bill increased from $345.87 to $716.61. The current bill included $514.42 in electricity charges, with the rest coming from water, sewer, stormwater and refuse.
Household 2: Daily electricity use increased only about 7%, but electric charges increased about 50%. Higher water and sewer usage also contributed to the total bill increasing from $471.28 to $760.49.
Household 3: Daily electricity use decreased about 26%, yet its electric charge remained almost unchanged, about $197 in both years.
That does not mean conservation no longer matters. Using less electricity and water still saves money. But the underlying rates are higher, meaning residents may not see the savings they would have seen under last year’s rates.
The PCA increased sharply
Across all three households reviewed, the PCA worked out to approximately:
Summer 2025: 1.53 cents per kWh
Summer 2026: 3.96 cents per kWh
That is an increase of about 159% in the PCA rate calculated from the bills.
The City’s rate study says the PCA is used to recover changes in fuel costs associated with electricity purchased by Manassas.
City operating reports also show the City’s VMEA power cost rising from 8.0 cents per kWh in March to 11.3 cents in May, an increase of about 41% in two months.
Water and Sewer Matter Too
The number at the top of a Manassas utility bill is not simply an electric bill.
A residential bill can include electricity, water, sewer, stormwater and refuse.
Water saw a particularly large increase. The residential water schedule moved the basic customer charge from $11.87 to $14.84, while the first usage tier increased from $3.80 to $4.75 per 1,000 gallons, both increases of about 25%.
Base sewer rates increased about 3%, and wastewater-treatment costs from the Upper Occoquan Service Authority, or UOSA, are charged separately. The City’s budget identifies higher purchased-water and chemical costs as water-rate pressures and higher UOSA treatment costs as a sewer-rate pressure.
For households that used more water this summer, higher consumption and higher rates can therefore increase both the water and sewer portions of the same bill.
Residential stormwater and refuse charges remained unchanged in the bills reviewed by the Journal.
Why Billing Days Matter
A monthly utility bill does not always cover exactly 30 days.
The bills reviewed by the Journal included periods of 31, 33 and 34 days because usage is measured between meter-reading dates.
A 34-day bill naturally includes more usage than a 31-day bill. That is why residents comparing bills should look at average electricity use per day, not only total kWh.
Why Manassas Is Different
Manassas has an unusual electric arrangement.
The City owns and maintains the local electric distribution system, including approximately 205 miles of primary lines, six substations and 31 diesel generators used to help reduce electric costs.
But Manassas does not generate all of the electricity residents use.
The City belongs to the Virginia Municipal Electric Association, or VMEA. According to the City’s rate study, VMEA purchases electricity from Dominion Virginia Power for resale to municipal systems including Manassas.
In simple terms:
Manassas owns the local system that delivers electricity to your home, but much of the power comes through a larger system connected to Dominion and the regional PJM power grid.
That is why changes in regional power costs can matter in Manassas even though residents receive their electric bill from the City rather than Dominion.
What About Data Centers?
This is important context because Manassas sits within one of the world’s largest concentrations of data centers.
Virginia’s economic-development agency describes Virginia as the largest data-center market in the world, while CBRE ranks Northern Virginia as the largest U.S. data-center market, with more than 4,000 megawatts of operating capacity at the end of 2025. Manassas sits in the middle of the Northern Virginia corridor, alongside rapidly growing data-center development in Prince William County, Culpeper, and Stafford.
Data centers bring substantial private investment and tax revenue to Northern Virginia. Prince William County’s own fiscal analysis has documented significant tax revenue and positive fiscal effects from the industry.
But those facilities also require enormous amounts of electricity.
PJM’s independent market monitor says data-center load growth is the primary reason for recent tight supply-and-demand conditions and high prices in PJM’s capacity market.
Reuters reported Aug. 11 that Dominion’s Virginia fuel costs have risen nearly 90% in five years as growing data-center demand has increased its exposure to the wholesale electricity market. Dominion expects to purchase about 23% of its electricity from PJM, compared with 14% in 2021. Virginia State Corporation Commission staff told regulators that significant data-center growth is exposing Dominion to wholesale prices that can spike during extreme weather. Dominion and the data-center industry argue that data centers bear their own costs and are not responsible for recent increases in residential bills.
The City of Manassas says data centers connected to its utility pay their own utility costs, an electric surcharge and tap fees, with no negative impact on local ratepayers. The City’s rate study says future data-center load could potentially provide rate relief.
These are different parts of the electricity system. The City’s statement addresses costs within the Manassas utility, while PJM and state regulators are examining the effect of rapidly growing demand on the larger regional power market.
The three household bills reviewed by the Journal do not prove that data centers caused the increase in Manassas bills or the PCA.
They do show why the regional power market matters: Manassas purchases electricity through a system operating amid unprecedented growth in electricity demand.
How to Check Your Bill
If your bill looks unusually high, compare it with the same period last year and check:
- Number of billing days
- Electricity used in kWh
- Average kWh used per day
- Energy charge
- Power Cost Adjustment
- Water usage
- Water and sewer charges
- Any previous balance
Most importantly, do not assume the total amount due represents electricity alone.
What’s Next
The Manassas Journal will continue to monitor City utility rates, the Power Cost Adjustment and changes in wholesale power costs.
We will also follow how Manassas’ relationships with VMEA, Dominion Energy, UOSA and the regional power grid affect what residents ultimately pay.
Where Residents Can Learn More
City of Manassas Utility Rates
Current Electric, Water, Sewer and Stormwater Rates
City of Manassas Electric Department
How the City’s Electric System Works
City of Manassas Utility Rate Study
March 2026 Electric, Water and Sewer Rate Study
City Electric System Operating Report
June 2026 Electric System Operating Report
City FY2027 Budget and Utility Presentation
City Budget and Utility Rate Information
Virginia Data-Center Industry
Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Northern Virginia Data-Center Market
CBRE 2025 Market Report
Regional Power Costs and Data Centers
Reuters, Aug. 11, 2026: Virginia Data Center Boom Pushes Dominion Deeper Into Costly Power Market
PJM Wholesale Power Market
PJM Independent Market Monitor, 2026 Quarterly State of the Market
Journal Note: The Manassas Journal reviewed comparable summer bills from three households in different Manassas neighborhoods. The examples are intended to help residents understand how changes in rates, usage, and billing periods affect actual household bills. Individual household usage will vary.
