An Act to direct certain electric utilities to undertake comprehensive assessments and establish pilot programs related to surplus interconnection service; report.
HB1065 directs Virginia’s Phase I and Phase II electric utilities to study and then pilot the use of “surplus interconnection service” at existing and planned intermittent generation sites, especially solar facilities. The bill requires each covered utility to conduct a comprehensive assessment of available interconnection capacity at its solar and other intermittent generation facilities, identify points where surplus interconnection service may be feasible, and report the findings to the State Corporation Commission by January 1, 2027.
The bill then requires each utility to establish a pilot program for energy storage resources and, where practicable, solar generation facilities that use surplus interconnection service. The pilot caps are up to 100 megawatts for Phase I utilities and up to 500 megawatts for Phase II utilities. The Commission must approve an independent auditor to help shape and review the request-for-proposals process, and the utilities must submit the pilot results in their 2027 applications for approval to construct or acquire the selected resources.
HB1065 adds a new planning and pilot-program mandate for investor-owned electric utilities in Virginia, but it does not directly amend rate-setting or siting statutes. It requires utilities to inventory interconnection rights, evaluate surplus capacity at existing points of interconnection, and identify opportunities to defer other generation or transmission investments. It also creates a new Commission-supervised procurement pathway for storage and solar projects that can use existing interconnection infrastructure, potentially affecting utility procurement, grid planning, and future resource acquisition decisions under the Code of Virginia sections governing utility approvals.
The bill appears generally supportive of grid modernization and renewable-energy deployment, with a practical focus on making better use of existing interconnection points. Its structure suggests a consensus-oriented approach: it asks utilities to study the issue first, then run limited pilots under Commission oversight before any broader expansion. The absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials limits the ability to identify strong opposition, but the bill’s approval as chapter law indicates it advanced successfully through the legislative process.
The main points of potential contention are likely the scope and cost of the required utility work, the size of the pilot programs, and the degree of Commission oversight. Utilities may be concerned about administrative burden, procurement constraints, or the requirement to identify multiple feasible interconnection points, while supporters would emphasize efficiency, reliability, and the ability to add storage and solar without major new transmission investment. Another possible issue is the bill’s preference for projects adjacent to utility-owned solar facilities and the use of an independent auditor in the RFP process, which could raise questions about project selection and utility control.