Why is this important?

These bills will help make Virginia’s power grid cleaner and more resilient, by expanding energy storage capacity on the grid, reforming regulations to improve utilities' performance and promote affordable clean energy and energy efficiency, and providing practical tools to local governments to streamline the solar permitting process. Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) supports these objectives and encourages CCL Virginia volunteers to contact their Delegate and State Senator to advocate for these bills.

Increase Energy Storage Capacity. HB895 / SB448 (Sullivan / Bagby) This bill directs Dominion and Appalachian Power to construct, acquire, or procure additional short-duration and long-duration energy storage capacity to meet certain targets by 2040 and 2045.

Performance-Based Regulation Work Group. HB903 / SB251 (Sullivan / Surovell) This bill creates a work group to design regulatory reforms and make legislative recommendations that would improve the performance of electric utilities, including reforms that would improve utilities’ compliance with energy efficiency targets and renewable energy portfolio standards. These recommendations must be submitted to Virginia’s General Assembly by the end of October 2026.

Grid Utilization Standards and Metrics. HB434 and SB621 (LeVere Bolling and Srinivasan) To improve the performance of electric utilities, HB434 gives the State Corporation Commission (SCC) authority to regulate grid utilization standards and establish performance-based incentives to meet these standards. SB621 requires Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to propose grid utilization metrics for SCC review and approval. Together, these bills provide the SCC with both the authority and data needed to better measure, manage, and improve grid performance.

Smart Solar Permitting Platform. HB590 / SB382 (Hernandez / Surovell) This bill directs Virginia’s Department of Energy to create and administer an automated Smart Solar Permitting Platform to serve as a tool for (i) contractors to obtain permits for the construction of residential solar energy systems and (ii) localities to process applications for such permits.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please write to your Delegate and Senator as soon as you can, since Tuesday, February 17 is the last day for bills to be acted upon in their chambers of origin, other than the budget bills. Bills must “cross over” to the opposite chamber by Wednesday, February 18.