SB 1216 Virginia Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Retail electric energy; renewable energy certificates.

Summary
Retail electric energy; renewable energy certificates. Requires competitive service providers, as defined in the bill, to serve 100 percent of their customers' energy and capacity needs from electric generating units located within the PJM transmission region. Under the bill, a competitive service provider must ensure that 100 percent of its customers' energy is either zero-carbon electricity or matched with renewable energy certificates. A certain percentage of a retail customer's annual load must be matched with zero-carbon electricity or renewable energy certificates from within the PJM transmission region. The bill allows certain retail customers to be exempt from non-bypassable charges associated with the renewable energy portfolio standard. The bill also requires the State Corporation Commission to promulgate rules as necessary to ensure that the provisions of the bill do not create an unreasonable shifting of costs to nonparticipating customers and to ensure that in all integrated resource plans and cost recovery proceedings no incumbent electric utility is improperly incorporating the loads of retail electric customers into its forecasts or load projections.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Last action Jan 27, 2025
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What changed between versions

Introduced Commerce and Labor Substitute · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended to clarify definitions of zero-carbon electricity by adding exclusions for hydrogen-fueled resources and co-firing, and to expand exemptions from renewable energy charges for customers using bundled renewable energy certificates or zero-carbon electricity from within the PJM region. The amendment also adds an exception allowing competitive service providers to use carbon-emitting resources during emergency dispatch events or for testing purposes.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on retail electric energy and renewable energy certificates, but the applicability of exemptions and service provider requirements was refined to address specific energy sources and operational exceptions.
DEFINITION

Added exclusions for hydrogen-fueled electric generating resources and co-firing of hydrogen and natural gas from the definition of zero-carbon electricity.

REQUIREMENT

Added an exception allowing competitive service providers to use carbon-emitting resources during emergency dispatch events or for testing purposes as required by air pollution permits.

Clarified that competitive service providers may procure zero-carbon electricity or renewable energy certificates in excess of the required percentage from outside the PJM transmission region.

EXEMPTIONS

Expanded the exemption from non-bypassable charges to include customers using zero-carbon electricity from within the PJM transmission region, not just bundled renewable energy certificates.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Jan 8, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Stella Pekarsky
Stella Pekarsky
DDemocratic
VA
36