There’s no denying that the cost of living in the US is constantly getting higher, but one man from Virginia was still shocked after his electricity bill turned out a lot higher than he expected. The Virginia man didn’t exactly expect much since he’s usually never home and often leaves his house alone for work, but somehow, the utility provider still charged him nearly $1,400 for the month because he apparently consumed a whopping 5,000 kWh of power.
TikTok user official_shanecolon of Virginia Beach, Virginia, aka Shane Colon, is the worried resident in question. He recently uploaded his power bill woes to TikTok after Dominion Energy charged him $1,381.30, to be exact, for a consumption of 4,904 kWh for February 2026 (and it’s not even done yet). The TikToker couldn’t help but ask, “Can somebody please explain something to me?… How is it humanly possible that I was using less than 1,500 kWh in 2025, 2024, and 2023, but somehow I using 5,000 kWh of energy now?”
Apparently, the TikToker did call Dominion Energy, though he didn’t elaborate on what exactly they did to quell his concerns, only that they didn’t exactly handle it well. “I need somebody to help me understand how a human can use 5,000 kWh when I’m never home– never home!” swears the TikTok user.
Apparently, it’s not an isolated case, as several people in Virginia have been reporting similar concerns this month. One mother from the same state was charged $741.98 for her heating bill, though this can be attributed to the colder weather in the past few weeks. The TikTok user above did claim that he wasn’t even using heating at home.
Other Virginians are Experiencing the Same
The TikTok user’s video has since gone viral on other platforms, and another resident from Virginia chimed in on the matter, an alleged attorney, no less. According to her, “They are charging on demand and not telling you!! We couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. Our usage jumped to over 8000 kWh.” What she did was call the utility provider to correct the bill, though apparently, it’s still a shady practice, and unwitting customers might not bother with complaints, especially if their bills aren’t that high.
Some commenters were apparently quick to blame the AI data centers in Virginia, as the state is known as the data center capital of the world (with the largest concentration of AI data centers). Hence, Senate Bill 253 was even amended to ensure that energy costs for residents would be slashed and placed on data centers instead, though the bill amendment hasn’t been enforced yet.
“There is an AI hub near you because they’re making all of the homeowners pay for their electricity,” suspects a commenter on the TikTok user’s comment section. Another viewer mocked the situation and how hard it is for Virginians now, “we have 655 data centers in VIrgina…#1 in the country !! yay..we are number 1.. ugh But someone has to pay for these centers and it is us, the citizens.”
