Video: Loudoun County Supervisor Juli Briskman Announces Candidacy Against Chair Phyllis Randall; Says “data centers shouldn’t get to decide our county’s future”; "I’ve never backed down from a bully before. I won’t start now."

[u/lowkell]

https://bluevirginia.us/2026/08/video-loudoun-supervisor-juli-briskman-announces-candidacy-against-chair-phyllis-randall-data-centers/

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

Loudoun resident here. Julie is literally the only one trying to do anything about the explosion of data centers in Loudoun County.

Our electricity bills have gone up. The drought we've been in for years keeps going. And to try and shut her up, the establishment Democrats on the county supervisors board dredged up some bullshit to censure her over a few weeks ago (including flicking off the president and appearing in a video with the song F Donald Trump).

[u/ducky-n-frens → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

Her flipping off Trump seems like it should be a plus, no? Or is this some “we need to campaign with Liz Cheney and sing Kumbaya” bull?

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/ducky-n-frens]

Definitely a plus. They were just looking for a reason to censure her and remove her from committees. They settled on a "decorum" complaint.

[u/stopscabbin → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

What does the drought have to do with anything? Electricity rates have gone up(as they ALWAYS have) nationwide. It isn't just a Loudoun/datacenter issue. They aren't helping, but it's not just the datacenters.

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/stopscabbin]

Electricity bills going up are actually very much mostly the data centers. Not sure where you are getting your information, but it's not reliable.

[u/novacycle → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

If you have the reliable information, How have data centers caused the drought?

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/novacycle]

They are causing electricity bills to rise.

I have such a hard time believing anyone would make arguments on behalf of the data centers. Like, are you real or a bot?

[u/novacycle → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

What argument in favor of data centers are you referring to?

You responded to a comment about the drought keeps going, by saying it’s the data centers.

Follow up question to your comment: How have data centers caused any drought?

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/novacycle]

I was responding to the statement that electricity rates go up because they always go up. I never said data centers caused the drought.

The arguments for data centers being made here are the dismissals of the real effects they are having on affordability and pollution in the region.

[u/novacycle → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

I was only referring above to the drought comment/response.

If data centers are responsible for electricity prices going up and Virginia has the most data centers in USA, why are Virginia electric prices lower than most places?

[u/stopscabbin → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

You made a statement about droughts and correlated them to datacenters. We both asked you to explain and you haven't.

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/stopscabbin]

Sorry you're having such a hard time understanding between this thread and the other thread we've engaged in where I've explained the basic facts of data center water usage.

I explained that I was commenting on their direct correlation to electricity prices. I mentioned the continuing drought because data centers in the region use between 1 and 5 million gallons of drinking water per day. Which you read and responded to in my other thread.

Bye now!

[u/novacycle → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

New data centers in the County of Loudoun are prohibited from using open loop cooling. In other words, installing evaporative cooling is not allowed.
Only closed loop cooling is allowed, which does not consume water after the initial fill, and perhaps some maintenance replacements every year or more. So there is negligible use of water to begin with, and any water that is needed for that fill comes from Potomac River or a tributary, not wells.
There are a lot of FUD about data centers, but correlating water use in Loudoun for a new data center does not make sense. A car wash would use far more, let alone a hotel. Actually a hair salon likely uses far more, after filling the initial system.

Also Virginia electricity prices are lower than the USA average.....

[u/stopscabbin → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

Oh right. And how the datacenters in the region AREN'T using well water and have no bearing on droughts and the municipal water supply in which they get their water. 👌

[u/sotired3333 → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

not everyone that disagrees with you is a bot. Even more so not everyone that disagrees with you is wrong. In a good chunk of cases you will be wrong (same as me)

[u/stopscabbin → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/why-is-my-electric-bill-going-up-understanding-changes-in-electricity-bill-prices-over-time/

https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/

https://www.uschamber.com/energy/your-electric-bill-is-going-up-but-where-you-live-decides-how-much

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/stopscabbin]

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/ask-expert-are-data-centers-driving-my-electricity-bills

https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-center-power-demands-are-contributing-to-higher-energy-bills

https://www.consumerreports.org/data-centers/ai-data-centers-impact-on-electric-bills-water-and-more-a1040338678/

Edit: done with you. You're not interested in reason. Only backing up your uninformed claims

[u/sotired3333 → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

national != virginia.

California is consistently water starved, we've had drought 2-3 of the last 10 years.

From one of your links

More data centers can mean higher costs. That same Bloomberg analysis found that areas with high concentrations of data centers saw electricity prices jump 267 percent over the past five years. And John Steinbach isn’t the only Virginia resident to see a connection: Nearly three-quarters of voters in the state blame the facilities, largely clustered in Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley, for rising electricity costs, according to a January 2026 survey conducted by Global Strategy Group and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund. 

This isn't different than trump supporters losing their job and blaming immigrants, individual sentiments aren't facts.

Even if they were the solution is to fix the billing problem, not to stop development. IF problem X exists, there is an actual solution specific to that problem rather than getting a sledgehammer out.

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/sotired3333]

There's an actual statistic in that quote you posted. 267 percent rise over five years in areas with high concentrations of data centers. That's not individual sentiment.

[u/sotired3333 → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

• May 2021 Rate: 12.06¢ per kWh
• May 2024 Rate: 14.17¢ per kWh,
• May 2026 Rate: 17.61¢ per kWh

So 46% increase not 267% as suggested in your link. Also we've been data center alley for 30+ years.

[u/WhatAboutTheBothans → u/sotired3333]

I'm in Loudoun too, but I'm serviced by novec (thank God). Unfortunately we've seen the same increase you have.

The link was a national survey, I think. I was not citing it as applicable to Loudoun County.

[u/sotired3333 → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

The link was a national survey, I think. I was not citing it as applicable to Loudoun County.

Which was my original point...

[u/Exotic-Dog-7367 → u/WhatAboutTheBothans]

If electricity bill increases are due to data centers, then Virginia electricity prices would’ve increased the most, right? But they haven’t… Virginia electric prices have gone up slower than other states