# Virginia SB423: Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers.

Virginia SB423, Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers., is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Russet Perry (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0746)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB423-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia SB423
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Electric utilities; duty to furnish adequate service, high-demand customers.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0746)
- Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 9 (210 yes, 36 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 HB 1151.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- New rules for home phone service: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, a telephone company does not have to extend lines if at least one wireline or terrestrial wireless provider already serves you at prevailing market rates. The company may use wireline or terrestrial wireless to serve customers, but when restoring service to an existing wirel…
- Power hookups can be delayed for reliability: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, your power distributor may delay starting service when needed to protect grid reliability. Delays are allowed to avoid exceeding generation or transmission limits or to meet State Corporation Commission or FERC interconnection rules.
- Unregulated power deals for very large users: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2027, an electric utility can meet its duty by letting an affiliate sell power directly to a customer in a cooperative’s service territory when the customer’s demand is reasonably expected to exceed 90 megawatts. This option is only for very large power users.
- Faster rulings on utility rate experiments: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2027, the Commission must issue a final order on an investor-owned utility’s voluntary rate or rate-design test by the earlier of six months after filing or three months after any evidentiary hearing. These firm deadlines can speed up approval or rejection of experimental rates.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Russet Perry (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-27 | House | Passed House | pass | 66 | 30 |   |
| 2026-02-24 | House | Reported from Labor and Commerce | pass | 16 | 6 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Reading of substitute waived | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Commerce and Labor Substitute rejected | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Senator Perry Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-16 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-13 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) | pass | 35 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-12 | Senate | Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute | pass | 15 | 0 |   |

## Actions (36)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0746) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 746 (Effective 7/1/2027) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB423) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB423ER) (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Enrolled (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-27: Passed House (66-Y 30-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-27: Read third time (House)
- 2026-02-26: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB423) (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-24: Reported from Labor and Commerce (16-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-02-19: Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce (House)
- 2026-02-19: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-19: Placed on Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-16: Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Senator Perry Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Reading of substitute waived (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Commerce and Labor Substitute rejected (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Engrossed by Senate Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Read second time (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Floor Offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Floor substitute printed 26108040D-S2 (Perry) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Committee substitute printed 26107906D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Passed by for the day (Senate)
- 2026-02-13: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB423) (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104600D (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222195.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222194.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188599.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188598.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-16: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149126.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149125.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147121.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147120.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-12: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145071.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145070.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090013.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090012.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/1222195.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1222194.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188599.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1188598.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149126.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1149125.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147121.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1147120.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145071.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1145070.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090013.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090012.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-SB423-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).