An Act to amend and reenact §§ 56-234 and 56-264.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to public utilities; water and sewerage companies; discounted rates for low-income customers.
HB770 amends Virginia’s public utility laws, specifically §§ 56-234 and 56-264.3, to authorize water and sewerage utilities to offer discounted rates and tariff provisions to low-income customers. The bill allows the State Corporation Commission to approve such discounts for households with annual income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, as determined by the Department of Social Services, and permits a tiered discount structure. It also allows the utility to recover the costs of providing the discounted service, subject to Commission approval.
The bill leaves in place the broader framework governing public utilities’ duty to provide adequate service at reasonable and uniform rates, while adding a targeted exception for water and sewerage companies serving low-income households. The measure is limited to water and sewerage utilities and does not broadly alter rate-setting rules for other public utilities, though it remains within the Commission’s oversight and approval process.
HB770 changes Virginia law by creating explicit statutory authority for regulated water and sewerage utilities to file and obtain approval for low-income discount programs. It affects § 56-234, which governs reasonable and uniform utility rates, by adding a new exception for discounted service to qualifying households, and it ties implementation to Commission-approved tariffs and rate recovery. The practical effect is to give utilities and the State Corporation Commission a clearer legal basis for affordability programs aimed at customers at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented debate or opposition in the provided materials. Based on the bill’s enactment into Chapter 217, the measure appears to have advanced successfully through the legislative process and been approved by the Governor. The overall posture of the bill is therefore best characterized as favorable and noncontroversial from the limited record available.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is whether utilities should be permitted to offer discounted water and sewer rates to low-income customers while recovering the associated costs through Commission-approved tariffs. Any disagreement would likely center on affordability for customers, cost recovery for utilities, and the scope of Commission oversight, but none of those concerns are expressly recorded in the materials provided.