Energy

Electric utilities; pilot programs for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. Amends annual funding commitments for the purposes of the annual pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals conducted by Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company. Under the bill, Dominion Energy shall conduct its pilot program at no less than $13 million and no greater than $17 million annually, and Appalachian Power Company shall conduct its pilot program at no less than $1 million and no greater than $1.5 million annually. The bill extends the sunset date of such pilot programs from July 1, 2028 to July 1, 2038. The bill also provides that Dominion Energy may recover costs associated with certain electrical facilities that have been approved by the State Corporation Commission as of December 1, 2038, notwithstanding any time limitations on such cost recovery in current law. This bill is a recommendation of the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.

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.

Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Program established; report. Directs the Director of the Department of Energy to establish the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Program. The purpose of the Program is to (i) promote the adoption, deployment, and understanding of solar energy and battery storage technologies; (ii) support market development, public information, and workforce development initiatives; and (iii) conduct research and technical studies on cost reduction, deployment barriers, and grid integration. The bill establishes the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Board as a policy board in the executive branch of state government to coordinate with the Director to establish a program for the promotion, research, and market development of clean energy and battery storage. Additionally, the bill establishes the Virginia Clean Energy and Battery Storage Promotion Fund to fund the administration and implementation of the Program. The bill requires the developer of a solar energy project or an energy storage system to pay a one-time fee of $0.02 per watt of generation or storage capacity to the Fund. The fee is assessed by the Department of Energy.

Electric utilities; emissions intensity target program. Requires the State Corporation Commission to develop an emissions intensity target program for Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power to achieve net-zero emissions. The bill requires the Commission to promulgate regulations to implement its provisions by January 1, 2027. Upon the promulgation of such regulations, the bill repeals certain provisions that require Dominion Energy Virginia and American Electric Power to participate in a renewable energy portfolio standard program, authorize the State Air Pollution Control Board to promulgate certain regulations, and provide that the construction or purchase by a public utility of certain generation facilities is in the public interest.

Personal property taxation; classifications; major energy consumer equipment upgrades. Establishes a special classification for generating equipment purchased on and after July 1, 2026, for the purpose of upgrading the backup or standby power systems of a major energy consumer (i) from equipment that does not meet Tier 2 emission standards to selective catalytic reduction generators that meet or exceed Tier 4 emission standards or (ii) to meet New Source Performance Standards as enforced by the Department of Environmental Quality, as applicable. The bill provides that such equipment may be taxed at a lower rate than is applied to other tangible personal property.

Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard eligible sources; zero-carbon electricity generating nuclear facilities. Provides that, for the purposes of the renewable energy portfolio standard, eligible sources include zero-carbon electricity generating nuclear facilities located in the Commonwealth.

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 HB 562.

Electric utilities; State Corporation Commission; all-source competitive procurement. Directs the State Corporation Commission to conduct and review an all-source competitive procurement process for Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power. Under the bill, the Commission shall determine best practices for the competitive procurement, including methods to evaluate all available resources prior to selecting feasible and cost-effective options.

Electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements; power purchase agreements. Amends certain renewable energy portfolio standard program requirements for Dominion Energy Virginia, including the annual percentage of program requirements to be met with solar, wind, or anaerobic digestion resources of one megawatt or less located in the Commonwealth. The bill changes from 2025 to 2027 the compliance year beginning in which at least 75 percent of renewable energy certificates used by Dominion Energy Virginia shall come from eligible resources located in the Commonwealth. The bill also removes the requirement for a solar-powered or wind-powered generation facility to have a capacity of no less than 50 kilowatts to qualify for a third party power purchase agreement under a pilot program. The bill directs the State Corporation Commission, by July 1, 2033, to initiate a proceeding to evaluate the future availability of renewable energy certificates from certain resources and permits the Commission to increase or decrease by up to one percentage point the percentage of program requirements to be met by such resources in future compliance years. The bill provides that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to encourage development on previously developed project sites, as defined in existing law, to reduce the land use impacts of solar development. This bill is identical to HB 628.

Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund created. Creates the Electric Vehicle Rural Infrastructure Program and Fund to assist private developers with non-utility costs associated with the installation of electric vehicle charging stations (i) in certain localities; (ii) on eligible public land, as defined in the bill; or (iii) within one mile of the boundary of eligible public land. The bill provides that a private developer may apply for a grant in an amount equal to 70 percent of the private developer's non-utility costs for the installation of such public electric vehicle charging stations. The awarding of a grant under the Program is conditional upon an agreement with the applicant that any cost of a project not funded by a grant awarded by the Program be funded by non-federal funds. The bill directs the Department of Energy to establish guidelines for the administration of the Program, including guidelines related to the application for and award of grants. The bill has an expiration date of July 1, 2031.