[Virginia Public Media] Virginia House OKs Electric Grid Review Bills

Energy-hungry industries such as data centers and manufacturing companies are driving the cost of energy up for Virginians – but so too are the electrification of household appliances and vehicles. Two Delegates in the General Assembly have proposed legislation which would help tackle rising energy costs.

Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling (D-Henrico) is the patron of HB 434, which would establish a “grid utilization standard” for Virginia’s two largest utility companies: Dominion Energy (Dominion) and Appalachian Power Company (APCo). The bill would require Dominion and APCo to assess the utility and efficiency of their transmission and distribution systems. From there, state regulators would verify their assessments and set standards for the companies, with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) setting timelines for the companies to meet said standards. The intent is to encourage both Dominion and APCo to pursue lower-cost improvements to Virginia’s energy grid as well as rooftop solar and energy storage facilities. Del. Lee Ware (R-Amelia) is carrying HB 114, which would ask the state Department of Energy and the SCC to conduct the cost-saving analysis instead of Dominion and APCo.

Both HB 434 and HB 114 received broad support from renewable energy advocates and ratepayers – as well as Dominion (although their support came with implied discussions for potential changes to the proposed measures). Both bills also echo Governor Spanberger’s Affordability Agenda by maximizing the Commonwealth’s grid without requiring numerous, expensive new construction projects. They both passed the House of Delegates on Monday, February 2nd with unanimous support and now head to the Senate for approval.

The full article is available here.