# Virginia HB1151: Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers.

Virginia HB1151, Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rodney T. Willett (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0745)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1151-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1151
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0745)
- Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (176 yes, 42 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 4

## Summary

Electric utilities; delay in provision of service permitted. Provides that a distributor of electric energy may delay the provision of service if such delay is necessary to maintain electric grid reliability, to avoid exceeding available generation or transmission capacity constraints, or to ensure compliance with load interconnection policies or rules issued by the State Corporation Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to SB 423.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Unregulated power deals for 90+ MW users: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, an electric cooperative can meet its service duty through unregulated sales by its affiliates to very large customers. The customer must be in the cooperative’s certificated territory and contract for demand expected to exceed 90 megawatts. This mainly serves big industrial…
- Utilities can delay service for reliability: cost, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, electric distributors may delay starting or expanding service only to protect grid reliability. They can also delay to avoid exceeding available generation or transmission capacity. They may pause service to follow interconnection rules from the state commission or FERC. Thi…
- Phone service: alternatives allowed, fewer extensions: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, phone companies can meet service duties using wireline or terrestrial wireless. They do not have to extend lines if other providers already offer service at prevailing market rates. If your wireline service is restored, the company must offer the wireline option. You or the…
- Faster rulings on utility rate experiments: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, the state commission must issue a final order on investor‑owned utilities’ petitions for voluntary rate tests within set deadlines. It must rule within six months of filing, or within three months after any hearing, whichever is earlier. This speeds decisions on pilot rates…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rodney T. Willett (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-02 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 65 | 32 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute | pass | 13 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 6 | 3 |   |

## Actions (31)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0745) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor - Chapter 745 (effective 7/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB1151) (House)
- 2026-03-14: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-14: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1151ER) (House)
- 2026-03-12: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-12: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-05: Passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Reported from Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB1151) (House)
- 2026-02-18: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-17: Read third time and passed House (65-Y 32-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107715D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (13-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-10: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-10: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 3-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB1151) (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101936D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222191.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222190.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1201461.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1201460.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145928.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145927.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-11: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139476.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139475.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139182.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139181.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088382.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088380.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222191.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222190.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1201461.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1201460.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145928.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145927.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139476.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139475.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139182.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1139181.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088382.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1088380.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1151-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).