All Roll Calls
Yes: 243 • No: 3
Sponsored By: David R. Suetterlein (Republican)
Became Law
Electric utilities; licensed retail suppliers; notice period for return to service. Permits an individual nonresidential retail customer of electric energy of Appalachian Power or Dominion Energy Virginia whose noncoincident peak demand exceeded five megawatts during the most recent calendar year to purchase electric energy from a licensed supplier within the Commonwealth. Currently, such a customer may only purchase electric energy from a licensed supplier if the customer's peak demand did not exceed one percent of the incumbent electric utility's peak load during the most recent calendar year unless the customer had a noncoincident peak demand of more than 90 megawatts. The bill changes from five years to eighteen months the advance notice period required for such a customer to return to service by an incumbent electric utility. This bill is identical to HB 921.
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7 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 3 mixed.
Residential customers cannot buy from licensed suppliers under this law. Nonresidential customers with a peak of 150 kW or less also cannot switch. These limits apply to Phase I and Phase II utility customers.
You can buy 100% renewable electricity from any licensed supplier if your incumbent utility has no approved 100% renewable tariff. If you already have a power purchase agreement when the incumbent files such a tariff, you may keep it until it ends. A cooperative’s undifferentiated tariff counts as 100% renewable if it retires RECs equal to all energy sold. For residential classes, this applies to tariffs filed on or after July 1, 2010; for nonresidential, on or after July 1, 2012.
Electric utilities that own or control transmission in Virginia must join or form a regional transmission group. They transfer control of transmission operations to that group. This changes who runs the grid and supports reliability and regional coordination.
If your incumbent utility elected the Fixed Resource Requirement as of February 1, 2019 and still uses it, you must keep paying that utility for non-fuel generation capacity and transmission while you buy energy from a licensed supplier. Your notice to return is three years. Customers with supplier deals before Feb 1, 2019 or aggregation petitions pending before Jan 1, 2019 are excluded until they return and receive energy from the incumbent.
Nonresidential customers of Phase I or II utilities can buy from a licensed supplier only if their peak last year was over 5 MW and not more than 1% of the utility’s peak, or if they ever exceeded 90 MW in 2006 or later. You cannot combine separate sites to qualify; each noncontiguous site counts on its own. Two or more customers, each under 5 MW last year, may ask the Commission to combine loads. The Commission may approve after a hearing if there is no harm to the utility or other customers and it is in the public interest, and it can require reporting or revoke approval.
If you qualify but do not sign with a licensed supplier, you must buy from your incumbent utility. If you later want to return to incumbent service, you must give 18 months written notice. The Commission can exempt you after a hearing if the supplier failed or is about to fail through no fault of yours. If exempted, you buy from the incumbent at market-based costs for the rest of the notice period. Those costs include market energy, transmission, losses, ancillary services, administrative costs, and a reasonable margin, set so other customers are not harmed. After you return, you must stay with the incumbent at least 12 months.
Phase I and Phase II utilities can ask the Commission to change generation and distribution rates to reassign costs tied to customer moves. This applies only when customer switching causes a net loss or gain of 100 MW or more on or after July 1, 2026. Petitions only reallocate costs within generation and distribution rates.
David R. Suetterlein
Republican • Senate
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
All Roll Calls
Yes: 243 • No: 3
House vote • 3/3/2026
Passed House
Yes: 97 • No: 0
House vote • 2/26/2026
Reported from Labor and Commerce
Yes: 18 • No: 3
Senate vote • 2/16/2026
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote
Yes: 39 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/16/2026
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading)
Yes: 39 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/16/2026
Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to
Yes: 0 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/13/2026
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading)
Yes: 35 • No: 0
Senate vote • 2/12/2026
Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute
Yes: 15 • No: 0
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0708)
Approved by Governor-Chapter 708 (effective 7/1/2026)
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB818)
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB818ER)
Enrolled
Signed by President
Signed by Speaker
Passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
Read third time
Read second time
Reported from Labor and Commerce (18-Y 3-N)
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
Read first time
Placed on Calendar
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB818)
Read third time and passed Senate Block Vote (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 3rd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to
Blank Action
Rules suspended
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute Block Vote (Voice Vote)
Read second time
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (35-Y 0-N 0-A)
Chaptered
4/13/2026
Enrolled
3/9/2026
Substitute
2/13/2026
Substitute
2/12/2026
Introduced
1/23/2026
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