HB 369: Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program, zero-carbon electricity, etc. - Virginia

Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute → Commerce and Labor Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the House to the Senate committee, shifting the legislative origin. The primary substantive change involves expanding the definition of eligible renewable energy sources for 'accelerated clean energy buyers' to include older solar and wind facilities that underwent upgrades or financial agreements after July 1, 2026, ensuring these resources remain viable for exemption from compliance costs. Additionally, the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance schedule for Phase II utilities was adjusted to reach 100% renewable energy targets by 2045, while Phase I utilities maintain a similar but slightly different trajectory.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding eligible renewable energy sources was expanded to include specific older facilities that were retrofitted or financially restructured after July 1, 2026, preventing their exclusion from the clean energy program.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded eligibility for 'accelerated clean energy buyers' to include solar and wind resources located in the PJM region that were placed in service on or before January 1, 2015, provided they underwent investments to increase output or entered new financial agreements after July 1, 2026, to prevent early retirement.

REQUIREMENT

Adjusted the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) compliance percentages for Phase II Utilities, setting a target of 100% renewable energy by 2045, whereas Phase I Utilities are set to reach 100% by 2050.

TIMELINE

Added a specific provision allowing zero-carbon electricity contracts from PJM region resources for accelerated buyers starting July 1, 2026, contingent on specific facility upgrades or financial agreements occurring after that date.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill header and committee attribution from 'House Committee on Labor and Commerce' to 'Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor' and updated the session date to 2026.

Commerce and Labor Substitute → Chaptered · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was converted from a Senate substitute version into final Chaptered law, retaining the core renewable energy and clean electricity mandates. The primary substantive change is the addition of a new Section J, which grants RPS eligibility to falling water facilities that began operations before July 1, 2024, ensuring they are not excluded from compliance requirements despite recent operational starts.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on Virginia electric utilities (Phase I and Phase II) and their obligations for renewable energy procurement, zero-carbon electricity, and retirement of fossil fuel plants. The applicability was slightly expanded by adding specific eligibility for certain hydroelectric resources.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new provision (Section J) that explicitly includes falling water generation facilities commencing commercial operations prior to July 1, 2024, as RPS eligible sources, preventing their exclusion from renewable portfolio standards.

TECHNICAL

Converted the document format from a 'Senate Substitute' draft to 'Chaptered' final law, including the addition of official act headers, chapter numbers, and approval dates.

Removed draft-specific metadata such as amendment dates, committee names, and patron identifiers that were present in the substitute version but are not part of the final enacted text.

Labor and Commerce Substitute → Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted to include a header indicating it is a 'House Substitute' for the 2026 session, while the substantive legislative content regarding renewable energy targets, utility obligations, and definitions remained unchanged. This indicates the bill passed the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and is now in a different stage of the legislative process.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability are unchanged; only the document header and formatting have been modified to reflect its status as a House Substitute.

TECHNICAL

The document header was updated to reflect the '2026 Session' and 'House Substitute' status, replacing the previous 'Labor and Commerce Substitute' title.

The original date stamp 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 1/29/2026' and the specific committee proposal date placeholder were removed as part of the formatting update.

The layout of the bill was adjusted to include a new header section with bill numbers and session details, while the core legal text regarding RPS percentages and utility requirements was preserved.

Enrolled → Labor and Commerce Substitute · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a final 'Enrolled' version into a 'Labor and Commerce Substitute' draft, which significantly altered the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements. The most critical change is the removal of a detailed table that previously set specific annual renewable energy targets for Phase I and Phase II utilities, replacing it with a requirement for Phase II utilities to meet 1% of their RPS goals using small-scale solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion resources. Additionally, the substitute version removed the specific timeline for retiring oil-fired power plants and the detailed schedule for zero-carbon electricity procurement, while retaining the definition of 'accelerated renewable clean energy buyers' and the general framework for utility obligations.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from a detailed, year-by-year mandate for renewable energy adoption to a more flexible framework that removes specific percentage targets for Phase I and Phase II utilities and eliminates the explicit deadline for retiring oil-fired generation units.

REQUIREMENT

The specific table detailing annual Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) percentage requirements for Phase I and Phase II utilities from 2021 to 2045 was removed entirely.

A new specific requirement was added for Phase II utilities to meet 1% of their RPS goals using small-scale solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion resources located in the Commonwealth, with provisions for low-income and school projects.

The detailed schedule for Phase I utilities to petition for 600 megawatts of new solar and onshore wind capacity by 2030 was removed.

The specific mandate for Phase II utilities to petition for 16,100 megawatts of solar/onshore wind and 5,200 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035 was removed.

The requirement for Phase I utilities to petition for 400 megawatts of energy storage by 2035 was removed.

The requirement for Phase II utilities to petition for 2,700 megawatts of energy storage by 2035 was removed.

TIMELINE

The explicit mandate requiring Phase I and Phase II utilities to retire all oil-fired generating units by December 31, 2024, was deleted.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Accelerated renewable clean energy buyer' was modified to remove the requirement that the customer must have an aggregate load over 25 megawatts.

Introduced → Enrolled · 3 edits · Mar 5, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act with minor text corrections, such as changing 'accelerated renewable energy buyer' to 'accelerated renewable clean energy buyer' for consistency. The core policy requirements, including renewable energy targets, retirement deadlines, and utility obligations, remained substantively unchanged from the introduced version.

DEFINITION

The term 'accelerated renewable energy buyer' was updated to 'accelerated renewable clean energy buyer' to align with other terminology in the act.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was updated from 'Introduced' to 'Enrolled' and included the final act number (HB 369 ER), indicating the legislation has been approved and signed into law.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the text layout, including the removal of a stray '+' character and standardizing line breaks.

Electric utilities; renewable portfolio standard program, zero-carbon electricity, etc.

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