Title 56, Title 56. Public Service Companies

A. As set forth in § 56-577, each incumbent electric utility owning, operating, controlling, or having an entitlement to transmission capacity shall join or establish a regional transmission entity, which hereafter may be referred to as "RTE," to which such utility shall transfer…

A. As used in this section: "Affiliate" means the same as that term is defined in § 56-576. "Licensed supplier" means any voting member of the regional transmission entity that has generation or transmission facilities in the Commonwealth and sells electricity to purchasers in th…

A. Subject to the provisions of § 56-585.1, the Commission shall continue to regulate pursuant to this title the distribution of retail electric energy to retail customers in the Commonwealth and, to the extent not prohibited by federal law, the transmission of electric energy in…

A. The Commission shall regulate the rates of investor-owned incumbent electric utilities for the transmission of electric energy, to the extent not prohibited by federal law, and for the generation of electric energy and the distribution of electric energy to retail customers pu…

A. As used in this section: "Electrical distribution infrastructure" means equipment, structures, and associated engineering and civil construction work designed to support electric vehicle charging stations, including poles, vaults, service drops, transformers, mounting pads, tr…

Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision B 1 of § 56-1.2:1, beginning January 1, 2028, no Phase I or Phase II Utility shall petition for approval of expenditures to own and operate public-facing electric vehicle fast-charging stations, as defined in § 56-581.2, unless such s…

A. The Commission shall establish capped rates, effective January 1, 2001, for each service territory of every incumbent utility as follows: 1. Capped rates shall be established for customers purchasing bundled electric transmission, distribution and generation services from an i…

Just and reasonable net stranded costs, to the extent that they exceed zero value in total for the incumbent electric utility, shall be recoverable by each incumbent electric utility provided each incumbent electric utility shall only recover its just and reasonable net stranded …

A. The Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, (i) determine the components of default service and (ii) establish one or more programs making such services available to retail customers requiring them during the availability throughout the Commonwealth of cust…

A. During the first six months of 2009, the Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, initiate proceedings to review the rates, terms and conditions for the provision of generation, distribution and transmission services of each investor-owned incumbent electric…

A. No biennial reviews of the rates, terms, and conditions for any service of a Phase I Utility, as defined in § 56-585.1, shall be conducted at any time by the Commission for the three successive 12-month test periods beginning January 1, 2014, and ending December 31, 2016. No b…

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership shall conduct a program with each Phase I and Phase II Utility, as those terms are defined in subsection A of § 56-585, in each such utility's service territory or transmission zone for the purpose of promoting economic development in…

A. As used in this section: "Advanced clean energy buyer" means a commercial or industrial customer of a Phase II Utility, irrespective of generation supplier, (i) with an aggregate load over 100 megawatts; (ii) with an aggregate amount of at least 200 megawatts of solar or wind …

A. As used in this section: "Applicable bill credit rate" means the dollar-per-kilowatt-hour rate as defined in subsection D used to calculate a subscriber's bill credit. The applicable bill credit rate shall be set such that the shared solar program results in robust project dev…

Beginning July 1, 2021, any approved costs of any investor-owned electric utility associated with investment in transportation electrification, other than those costs approved prior to July 1, 2021, shall be recovered only through the utility's rates for generation and distributi…

A. As used in this section: "Small modular reactor" or "SMR" means a nuclear reactor that produces nuclear power and has a nameplate capacity that does not exceed 500 megawatts of generating capacity per reactor. "SMR facility" means an SMR or multiple SMRs that generate electric…

A. As used in this section: "Phase I Utility" means an investor-owned incumbent electric utility that was, as of July 1, 1999, not bound by a rate case settlement adopted by the Commission that extended its application beyond January 1, 2002. "Project development costs" means all…

A. As used in this section: "Aggregator" means an individual or entity, other than the electric utility, that enrolls customers in the pilot program and coordinates the operation of enrolled energy resources. An aggregator shall not be considered an electric utility by virtue of …

A. As used in this section: "Aggregator" means an individual or entity, other than the electric cooperative, that enrolls customers in a virtual power plant program and coordinates the operation of enrolled energy resources. An aggregator shall not be considered an electric utili…

A. As used in this section, "Phase I Utility" and "Phase II Utility" have the same meanings as provided in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1 B. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 56-249.6 and 56-585.1: 1. Each Phase I and Phase II Utility shall conduct a pilot program for electric …

A. As used in this section: "Aggregator" means an individual or entity, other than the electric utility, that enrolls customers in the pilot program and coordinates the operation of enrolled energy resources. An aggregator shall not be considered an electric utility by virtue of …

Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 56-249.6 and 56-585.1: Each Phase I and II Utility shall conduct a pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals in their respective service territories in the Commonwealth. Each pilot…

A. As used in this section: "Eligible generation facility" means an electrical generation facility that: 1. Exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; 2. Is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; 3. Is not constructed by an investor-owned utility and either (i) is acquir…

A. Prior to January 1, 2024, (i) the construction or purchase by a public utility of one or more solar or wind generation facilities located in the Commonwealth or off the Commonwealth's Atlantic shoreline, each having a rated capacity of at least one megawatt and having in the a…

A. There is hereby established a pilot program to further the understanding of underground electric transmission lines in regard to electric reliability, construction methods and related cost and timeline estimating, the probability of meeting such projections, and the benefits o…

A. The Commission shall establish pilot programs under which each Phase I Utility and each Phase II Utility, as such terms are defined in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1, shall submit a proposal to deploy electric power storage batteries. A proposal shall provide for the deployment…

A. The Commission shall require a Phase II Utility as defined in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1 to submit a proposal to the Commission to conduct a pilot program, not to exceed 10 megawatts in the aggregate, in its certificated service territory to allow any school in a public sch…

A. As used in this section: "Host account" means the premises on which a municipal customer-generator's electrical generating facility is located. "Municipal customer-generator" means a municipality that owns or operates, or that contracts with other persons to own or operate, an…

A. Each Phase I Utility and each Phase II Utility, as such terms are defined in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1, may submit one or more petitions to provide or make available broadband capacity to Internet service providers in areas of the Commonwealth unserved by broadband. The pr…

A. After the expiration or termination of capped rates, the rates, terms and conditions of distribution electric cooperatives subject to Article 1 (§ 56-231.15 et seq.) of Chapter 9.1 shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 9.1 (§ 56-231.15 et seq.) and 1…

Distribution electric cooperatives subject to Article 1 (§ 56-231.15 et seq.) of Chapter 9.1 shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 9.1 (§ 56-231.15 et seq.) and 10 (§ 56-232 et seq.), as amended by relevant sections of this chapter and by the following …

A. As used in this section: "Accelerated clean energy buyer" means a commercial or industrial customer of a Phase I or Phase II Utility, irrespective of generation supplier, with an aggregate load over 25 megawatts in the prior calendar year, that enters into arrangements pursuan…

A. The Commission shall, after notice and opportunity for hearing, initiate a proceeding to establish the rates, terms, and conditions of a non-bypassable universal service fee to fund the Percentage of Income Payment Program (PIPP). Such universal service fee shall be allocated …

A. As used in this section: "Cooperative" means a utility consumer services cooperative. "Eligible customer" means a member-consumer receiving service from a cooperative that (i) has asked to participate in the cooperative's on-bill tariff program and (ii) has been determined by …

A. For the purposes of this section: "Phase I Utility" has the same meaning as provided in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1. "Utility" means a Phase I Utility. B. With the first review commencing on March 31, 2024, and on May 31 biennially thereafter, the Commission shall conduct ra…

On and after January 1, 2001, if any supplier fails to fulfill an obligation, resulting in the failure of retail electric energy to be delivered into the control area serving the supplier's retail customer, the entity fulfilling the control area function, or, if applicable, the r…

A. As used in this section, "electric energy emergency" means an unplanned interruption in the generation or transmission of electricity resulting from a hurricane, ice storm, windstorm, earthquake or similar natural phenomena, or from a criminal act affecting such generation or …

A. As a condition of doing business in the Commonwealth, each person except a default service provider seeking to sell, offering to sell, or selling electric energy to any retail customer in the Commonwealth, on and after January 1, 2002, shall obtain a license from the Commissio…

A. As a condition of doing business in the Commonwealth, each person seeking to act as an aggregator within this Commonwealth on and after January 1, 2002, shall obtain a license from the Commission to do so. The license shall authorize that person to act as an aggregator until t…

A. Subject to the provisions of subdivision A 3 of § 56-577, counties, cities, and towns (hereafter municipalities) and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth may, at their election and upon authorization by majority votes of their governing bodies, aggregate electrical…

A. A school board of a school division located in a locality that is a non-jurisdictional customer of a utility pursuant to § 56-234 and that owns or operates a public school building or facility that has been modernized consistent with Article 3 (§ 22.1-141.1 et seq.) of Chapter…

A. The Commission shall not require any incumbent electric utility to divest itself of any generation, transmission or distribution assets pursuant to any provision of this chapter. B. 1. The Commission shall, however, direct the functional separation of generation, retail transm…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt or immunize from punishment or prosecution, conduct violative of federal antitrust laws, or the antitrust laws of this Commonwealth.

A. The Commission shall develop an electric energy consumer education program designed to provide the following information to retail customers: 1. Information regarding energy conservation, energy efficiency, demand-side management, demand response, and renewable energy; 2. Info…

A. The Commission shall establish and implement the consumer education program developed pursuant to subsection A of § 56-592. In establishing such a program, the Commission shall take into account the findings and recommendations of the subgroup on Information/Consumer Education…

A. No entity subject to this chapter shall use any deception, fraud, false pretense, misrepresentation, or any deceptive or unfair practices in providing, distributing or marketing electric service. B. 1. Any person who suffers loss (i) as the result of marketing practices, inclu…