SB 72 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Electric utilities; energy efficiency upgrades, report.

Summary
Phase I and Phase II Utilities; energy efficiency upgrades; low-income residents; report. States that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to reduce, wherever feasible and cost-effective, heating-related costs of living for low-income residents. The bill requires Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to make best, reasonable efforts to provide by December 31, 2031, prescriptive efficiency measures, as defined in the bill, and related efficiency improvements to at least 30 percent of the qualifying households, as defined in the bill, identified by such utilities, provided that the State Corporation Commission determines that such measures and improvements are in the public interest. The bill requires such utilities to report to the Commission its activities, plans, and filings regarding the bill's provisions no later than January 1, 2028, annually thereafter, and in any recurring filing that the Commission deems appropriate. The bill also requires that Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power make reasonable efforts to incorporate recommendations or feedback provided by the task force that evaluates barriers to access and enrollment in programs for income-qualified energy customers. This bill is identical to HB 2.
Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House of Delegates Passage
Mar 2026
Vetoed
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 17, 2025 Vetoed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Commerce and Labor Substitute Enrolled · 2 edits · Mar 9, 2026
MINOR
The bill was finalized and enrolled for the 2026 session, removing draft headers and adding official approval status. The core policy text remains largely unchanged, but a definition for 'Phase I Utility' and 'Phase II Utility' was slightly reformatted to ensure consistency with the Code of Virginia.
Scope change
No substantive change in scope or applicability; the bill targets the same electric utilities and households.
TECHNICAL

Removed draft headers like 'OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION' and replaced them with official '2026 SESSION ENROLLED' status.

DEFINITION

Reformatted the definition of 'Phase I Utility' and 'Phase II Utility' to use a non-breaking space before the section number, ensuring legal consistency.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 13, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 3, 2026

How they voted

340
Passed · 5 other
Total votes 39
Feb 13, 2026
D Democratic20
19 Yea 1
95% Yea
R Republican19
15 Yea 4
78% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
29
Key actions
9
Committee
5
Apr 13, 2026
Vetoed
Governor's recommendation received by Senate
executive
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by President
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Signed by Speaker
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB72ER)
upper
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed House (64-Y 34-N 0-A)
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported from Labor and Commerce (16-Y 5-N)
lower
Feb 24, 2026
Committee
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
lower
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A)
upper
Feb 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by for the day
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (9-Y 6-N)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate committee offered
upper
Dec 17, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
upper
1 primary · 4 co-sponsors

Sponsors