HB 562 Virginia House of Delegates · 2026 Regular Session

Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program.

Summary

Electric utilities; virtual power plant program; electric cooperatives. Authorizes electric cooperatives to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. The bill defines a virtual power plant as an aggregation of distributed energy resources, enrolled either directly with an electric cooperative or indirectly through an aggregator, that are operated in coordination to provide one or more grid services. Under the bill, an electric cooperative may offer incentives to residential customers to purchase battery storage devices and is required to evaluate various methods to optimize demand. This bill is identical to SB 487.

Issues: ✓ Energy

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Mar 31, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Enrolled → Chaptered · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was finalized and assigned Chapter 44 of the 2026 Virginia Acts of Assembly. It was approved on March 31, 2026, and includes a minor technical adjustment to the section number in the Code of Virginia, changing it from 56-585.1:17 to 56-585.1:17 (likely a formatting correction in the final text). The substantive policy regarding electric cooperatives and virtual power plants remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability remain unchanged; only the final chapter number and section formatting were adjusted.

TECHNICAL

Added the final chapter number (Chapter 44) and specific approval date (March 31, 2026) to the text.

Adjusted the section number in the Code of Virginia from 56-585.1:17 to 56-585.1:17, likely a formatting correction in the enrolled version.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 25, 2026 · House of Delegates Feb 2, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 25, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 31, 2026

Signed into law

Approved by Governor-Chapter 44 (effective 7/1/2026)

executive

Mar 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB562ER)

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed Senate with substitute (39-Y 1-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

upper

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and passed House (99-Y 0-N 0-A)

lower

Jan 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Labor and Commerce (22-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N)

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3

lower

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors