# Virginia HB884: Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program, eligibility, delayed effective date.

Virginia HB884, Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program, eligibility, delayed effective date., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Charniele L. Herring (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0690)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB884-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB884
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program, eligibility, delayed effective date.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0690)
- Sponsor: Charniele L. Herring (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 12 (245 yes, 116 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Electric utilities; Percentage of Income Payment Program; eligibility. Amends the objectives of the Percentage of Income Payment Program, which provides electric bill payment assistance to eligible customers, to include (i) reducing the energy burden of eligible participants by limiting electric bill payments directly to no more than three percent of the eligible participant's annual household income if the household's heating source is anything other than electricity and to no more than five percent of an eligible participant's annual household income on electricity costs if the household's primary heating source is electricity. The bill also amends the eligibility criteria of the Program beginning January 1, 2027, to include any retail electric customer of Dominion Energy or Appalachian Power with a household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill directs the Department of Social Services, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Community Development as needed, to update its rules and guidelines for the implementation of the Program to reflect the eligibility requirements of the bill. The provisions of the bill, other than the provisions directing the Department of Social Services to update its rules and guidelines, have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- More electric bill help for low-income households: benefit, medium. Beginning January 1, 2027, Virginia expands eligibility for its Percentage of Income Payment Program. Households qualify with income at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines and retail service from a Phase I or Phase II utility. For participants, direct electric-bill payments are capped at 3%…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Charniele L. Herring (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-12 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 63 | 35 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute | pass | 21 | 19 |   |
| 2026-03-11 | Senate | Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 37 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute | pass | 10 | 4 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 9 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 63 | 34 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 5 | 2 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Reported from Appropriations | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-05 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) and referred to Appropriations | pass | 15 | 7 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations | pass | 7 | 2 |   |

## Actions (40)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0690) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor - Chapter 690 (effective - 1/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB884) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB884ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB884) (House)
- 2026-03-12: Senate substitute agreed to by House (63-Y 35-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-11: Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Finance and Appropriations Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (37-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Committee substitute printed 26109545D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (10-Y 4-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Reported from Commerce and Labor and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-21: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB884) (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 (63-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-16: committee amendments agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-15: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-13: Subcommittee recommends reporting (5-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-02-13: Reported from Appropriations (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB884) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources (House)
- 2026-02-05: Reported from Labor and Commerce with amendment(s) and referred to Appropriations (15-Y 7-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-02-03: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) and referring to Appropriations (7-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (HB884) (House)
- 2026-01-22: Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104182D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222143.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222142.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213468.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213467.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203878.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203877.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148746.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148745.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132078.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116034.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115594.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086316.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086315.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/1222143.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222142.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213468.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1213467.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203878.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1203877.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148746.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1148745.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132078.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1116034.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115594.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086316.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086315.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-HB884-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).