An Act to amend and reenact § 56-585.5 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electric utilities; renewable energy portfolio standard; zero-carbon electricity; accelerated clean energy buyers.
HB369 amends Virginia’s electric utility law governing the renewable energy portfolio standard and zero-carbon electricity requirements. The bill defines several new terms, including “accelerated renewable clean energy buyer,” “aggregate load,” “previously developed project site,” and “zero-carbon electricity,” and it updates the framework for how utilities count renewable and zero-carbon generation toward compliance. It also creates a special category for large commercial and industrial customers that can participate in arrangements under a separate subsection, with certification by the State Corporation Commission.
The bill requires Phase I and Phase II utilities to retire certain fossil-fueled generating units on a schedule, including oil-fired units over 500 megawatts and coal-fired units by December 31, 2024, and all other carbon-emitting generating units by December 31, 2045, subject to exceptions and Commission review for reliability or security concerns. It also continues and revises the renewable energy portfolio standard program, setting annual renewable sales goals for retail customers while excluding accelerated renewable clean energy buyers from those general requirements. The bill further adjusts how nuclear generation and certain zero-carbon facilities are treated in calculating total electric energy for compliance purposes.
HB369 directly amends § 56-585.5 of the Code of Virginia, changing the state’s renewable portfolio standard and zero-carbon electricity compliance rules for investor-owned utilities. It affects Phase I and Phase II utilities, the State Corporation Commission, large commercial and industrial electricity customers, and developers of renewable, nuclear, and other zero-carbon generation. The bill also influences utility retirement planning, procurement, and compliance accounting by redefining eligible resources and excluding certain customer classes from the standard RPS calculation.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote data, so there is no documented debate or recorded opposition in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s enactment, the overall sentiment appears to have been favorable enough for passage and approval into law. The measure is consistent with a policy direction toward decarbonization, renewable procurement, and utility transition planning.
The main likely points of contention are the mandated retirement timelines for fossil-fueled generating units and the reliability/safety exception process, which gives the Commission discretion to delay or modify retirements if service reliability is threatened. Another potential issue is the carve-out and special treatment for “accelerated renewable clean energy buyers,” which may be viewed as beneficial to large industrial customers but could raise equity or cost-allocation concerns for other ratepayers. The treatment of nuclear generation and other zero-carbon facilities in compliance calculations may also be debated by utilities, consumer advocates, and clean-energy stakeholders.