How Utility Service Is Organised Across Virginia

Virginia has no single utility office. Electricity, natural gas, water, sewer and propane each come from different providers, and the one you deal with depends on your address. A renter in Arlington, a farm owner in Southampton County and a homeowner in Danville will each call a different number to start service. This page explains who runs what in Virginia, so you can pick the right office before you pick up the phone.

Most Virginia households deal with three kinds of providers. Investor-owned companies such as Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power sell electricity across large territories. Cooperatives, including Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative in Manassas, serve member-owners in suburban and rural areas. Cities, counties and water authorities run their own water and sewer systems, and some also run gas or electric service. Knowing which type serves you tells you where to pay, where to report problems and who to complain to.

The State Corporation Commission, usually called the SCC, is the main state regulator. It is created by the Virginia Constitution and based in Richmond. The SCC oversees investor-owned electric, natural gas and water companies, along with electric cooperatives. It decides rate cases, approves new power plants and transmission lines, and enforces pipeline safety rules. Rate cases involve public notices, written comments and hearings, so customers can speak up before a change takes effect.

Other agencies cover other pieces of the system:

This split matters when you have a complaint. If Dominion Energy Virginia or Columbia Gas of Virginia mishandles your bill, you can take it to the SCC after you have tried the company first. If the problem is with Henrico County or Virginia Beach, the route runs through the locality's own utilities department and, in the end, its elected officials.

Who Runs Utilities in Virginia Cities and Counties

Many of the offices in our directory are local government utilities. Henrico County Public Utilities on East Parham Road, Spotsylvania County Utilities on Hudgins Road in Fredericksburg, and the Chesterfield County Utilities Department on Government Center Parkway provide water and sewer service to their residents. Front Royal Public Utilities in Warren County and Virginia Beach Public Utilities do the same for their communities. The Southampton County Department of Public Utilities in Boykins covers a more rural service area.

Authorities form a second group. The Bristol Virginia Utilities Authority on Lee Highway, the Greensville Water & Sewer Authority in Emporia and the Campbell County Water Authority near Lynchburg are separate bodies that run systems for a city, a county or several localities. Their boards are appointed by the governments they serve, and as public bodies they hold meetings that are open under Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.

Private companies fill in the rest. Virginia American Water in Hopewell and American Water Company on Duke Street in Alexandria supply water in their franchise areas. Gas customers may deal with Virginia Natural Gas in Newport News, Columbia Gas of Virginia in Harrisonburg or, in Northern Virginia, Washington Gas. Dominion Energy Virginia, listed here as Dominion Virginia Power in Covington, supplies electricity across much of the state.

One quirk of Virginia geography affects how you read our pages. The state has 38 independent cities that sit outside any county. Chesapeake, Danville, Lynchburg, Newport News and Alexandria all work this way. Our database groups listings under a county label, so you will see pages titled "Chesapeake County" or "City of Alexandria County" even though no such counties exist. Treat them as city pages. In the same way, the Campbell County Water Authority appears under a Lynchburg address, although Campbell County is its own jurisdiction.

Metro, Coastal and Rural Utilities in Virginia

Northern Virginia has the densest service map in the state. Fairfax County has the most listings in our directory, and nearby Arlington and Alexandria add more. Customers here may have Dominion or NOVEC for electricity, Washington Gas for heat and a separate public or private water provider. A move of only a few miles can change two or three accounts at once.

Hampton Roads follows a different pattern. Water and sewer service in Chesapeake, Newport News and Virginia Beach comes through city departments that work alongside the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, which treats wastewater for much of the region. Virginia Natural Gas supplies most gas customers. The low-lying coast makes storm response a big part of utility planning, and hurricanes such as Isabel in 2003 showed how quickly power and pumping stations can fail.

The Richmond area mixes city and county systems. The City of Richmond runs its own gas, water and wastewater utility, while Henrico County and Chesterfield County operate separate water and sewer departments. Crossing a county line can therefore mean switching offices, even when the street looks unchanged. In Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County runs its own utilities department, which handles service questions for residents in the county.

Rural Virginia relies more on cooperatives, small authorities and propane. The AmeriGas office on Meetze Road in Warrenton is a reminder that many homes outside town limits in Fauquier County heat with propane delivered by truck rather than piped gas. In the Alleghany Highlands, the Clifton Forge water treatment plant on Sulfur Spring Road shows how small towns keep their own treatment works. In southwest Virginia, many customers deal with Appalachian Power for electricity.

Read each listing with its purpose in mind, because not every entry is a billing office. Columbia Gas Transmission in Chesapeake is a pipeline operator rather than the office that bills homes. Air Liquide America in Alexandria deals in industrial gases. Integrys Energy Service in Arlington is an energy supplier, Jarrett Electric in Roanoke is an electrical business, and EnerVest Operating in Abingdon is an energy producer. If you want to pay a bill or report an outage, check which kind of listing you have before you call.

Starting, Moving or Stopping Service in Virginia

Setting up service usually takes one call per provider. Contact each office a week or more before you move, because new connections, meter reads and gas appliance checks can need a scheduled visit.

Most offices ask for the same basics:

Deposits are common for new customers without a payment history. Ask how much the deposit is, how long it is held and when it is returned. Regulated companies must follow rules approved by the SCC on deposits and disconnection notices, so you can ask a company to point to the rule if you disagree with a charge.

Town and county utilities often bundle water, sewer and trash on one bill, and some bill quarterly rather than monthly. Check the billing cycle so a large bill does not catch you off guard. When you move out, give a firm stop date and ask for a final meter reading, so you are not charged for the next occupant's use. Many offices accept payments in person, by mail and online.

Renters should read the lease first. In many apartment buildings, water is included in the rent or split by a formula, and the landlord holds the account. Ask in writing which services are yours to set up before the move.

Municipal utility departments throughout Virginia provide electricity, water, sewer, and related services to millions of residents and businesses. Utility governance in Virginia is shaped by the state's public utility commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities, while municipally owned systems operate under local authority.

Utilities locations are available in 100 cities across Virginia. They are spread across 76 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration of utility offices include Fredericksburg, Warrenton, Chesapeake, reflecting their larger populations and service area demands.

Virginia residents should contact their local utility provider directly for account setup, billing questions, and outage reporting. State-level utility assistance programs may also be available through the state's health and human services agency.

Utilities by Counties

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Virginia residents who need help paying utility bills may qualify for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), administered through the state's community services offices. Contact your local utility provider to inquire about budget billing, shut-off protection, and additional assistance programs available in your area.

Browse Utilities by county across Virginia to find your local utility department's contact information and service office locations.

Utility Help in Virginia: Bills, Outages and Digging

Most problems fall into three groups: money, outages and excavation. Each has a clear first call.

For bills, start with the provider and ask about a payment plan before an account falls behind. Households with low incomes can apply for help through the Virginia Department of Social Services, which runs the state's Energy Assistance Program through local social services offices.

For outages, report to the company that bills you, not the neighbouring one. Electric cooperatives and municipal systems such as Front Royal Public Utilities run their own crews and phone lines. If you smell gas, leave the building first, then call 911 and the gas company.

For digging, contact Virginia 811 first. In Danville, or in Roanoke County, buried water, gas and electric lines are often owned by different operators and run side by side.

Virginia Utilities FAQ

The State Corporation Commission regulates investor-owned electric, gas and water companies and electric cooperatives. It handles rate cases, siting approvals and pipeline safety. The Virginia Department of Health's Office of Drinking Water oversees public water systems, and the Department of Environmental Quality issues wastewater discharge permits. City and county systems, such as Henrico County Public Utilities or Virginia Beach Public Utilities, answer to local elected officials instead. Identify which type of provider bills you, then contact that body first.

Check a recent bill or ask the property owner. Dominion Energy Virginia covers much of the state, Appalachian Power serves much of the southwest, and cooperatives such as Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative in Manassas serve their own territories. Some towns, including Danville and Front Royal, run city electric systems. Territories do not follow county lines neatly, so two neighbours can have different providers. If no bill is available, call the local utility offices listed in our directory and give them the street address.

Usually not. Columbia Gas Transmission operates pipelines, and the company that bills a home is normally a local distribution utility. In Hampton Roads that is typically Virginia Natural Gas, listed on Diligence Drive in Newport News. In the Harrisonburg area it is Columbia Gas of Virginia, and in Northern Virginia it is often Washington Gas. Your bill will show the correct company name and account number. Use that company's customer line for billing questions and gas odour reports.

Contact Virginia 811 by phone or online at least three working days before you dig, not counting weekends and holidays. The notice is free, and it applies to homeowners planting trees or building fences as well as contractors. Member utilities then mark the approximate location of buried lines with paint or flags. Wait for the marks before breaking ground, and dig carefully near them. Hitting a gas or electric line is dangerous and can leave you responsible for repair costs.

The Virginia Department of Social Services runs the Energy Assistance Program, which includes fuel, crisis and cooling components that open at different times of year. You apply through your local department of social services in your city or county. Eligibility depends on household size and income, and the limits change, so confirm current figures with the office. Bring photo ID, proof of income and a recent utility bill. Also ask your provider about payment plans, which can run alongside an application.

Virginia's independent cities are legally separate from counties, but our database uses a county field for every listing. For cities such as Chesapeake, Danville, Lynchburg and Alexandria, that field repeats the city name, which produces page titles like "Danville County". These pages cover the city itself. If a listing sits at a city address but belongs to a neighbouring county, as with the Campbell County Water Authority near Lynchburg, confirm the service area with the office before you rely on it.

It depends on whether public lines reach your street. County departments and authorities, such as Southampton County's Department of Public Utilities in Boykins or the Greensville Water & Sewer Authority in Emporia, serve connected customers. Many rural homes instead use private wells and septic systems. Your local health district, part of the Virginia Department of Health, handles septic permits and private well questions. Private well water is not routinely tested for you, so have it tested yourself.