A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 56-594, 56-594.01, and 56-594.2 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 55.1-1212.1 and by adding in Chapter 23 of Title 56 a section numbered 56-596.7, relating to electric utilities; small portable solar generation devices; Residential Landlord and Tenant Act.
HB928 would create a new right for tenants in larger rental properties to install “small portable solar generation devices” on the exterior of their premises, while allowing landlords to impose reasonable limits on size, placement, and manner of installation. The bill defines these devices as moveable photovoltaic units up to 1,200 watts that plug into a standard 120-volt outlet, are not grid-interconnected, comply with the National Electrical Code, and are certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. Tenants would be responsible for any damage caused by the device.
The bill also amends Virginia’s net energy metering laws for investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives. It updates definitions and interconnection rules for eligible customer-generators, eligible agricultural customer-generators, and small agricultural generators, and it expressly excludes small portable solar generation devices from those programs. The measure preserves and refines rules on metering, interconnection approval, compensation for excess generation, renewable energy certificates, standby charges, and utility cost recovery, while also maintaining special provisions for localities in Planning District Eight and for third-party power purchase agreements in cooperative territories.
For electric cooperatives, the bill continues the separate net metering framework in § 56-594.01, including capacity caps, standby charges for larger residential systems, and rules for third-party partial requirements power purchase agreements. It also keeps the small agricultural generator program in § 56-594.2, under which qualifying agricultural and certain manufacturing businesses may sell all output to the utility at an agreed rate not below avoided cost. The new § 56-596.7 creates a broad exemption for small portable solar devices from interconnection requirements, net metering rules, utility approval, fees, and additional equipment mandates.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill’s handling appears favorable or at least noncontroversial, as the recorded last action was incorporation by Labor and Commerce of another bill by voice vote. No committee transcript or recorded roll-call vote is provided, so there is no evidence in the supplied materials of organized opposition or debate. The bill’s structure suggests a pro-solar, consumer-access approach, especially for renters and small-scale distributed generation customers.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be landlord property-control concerns, utility safety and grid-management concerns, and the scope of the exemption from utility oversight for plug-in solar devices. Utilities may also focus on cost recovery, standby charges, and whether the bill’s treatment of portable solar devices could affect existing net metering and interconnection frameworks. On the tenant side, the bill balances access with landlord restrictions and tenant liability for damage, which may be the key compromise point.
HB928 would amend Virginia landlord-tenant law and utility regulation by adding a new statutory right for tenants in larger rental properties to install small portable solar generation devices, and by creating a separate statutory exemption for those devices from utility interconnection and net metering requirements. It would also revise multiple sections governing net energy metering, agricultural generation, standby charges, renewable energy certificate ownership, and utility cost recovery, affecting investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, customer-generators, agricultural businesses, landlords, and tenants.
Based on the available context, the bill appears to have been received positively or at least without visible controversy in committee, as it was incorporated by Labor and Commerce via voice vote. There are no transcripts or recorded votes showing opposition, amendments, or divided views. The bill’s emphasis on expanding solar access and simplifying small-scale generation suggests a generally supportive posture toward distributed renewable energy.
The most likely areas of contention are the landlord-tenant balance and utility regulation. Landlords may object to limits on their ability to prohibit exterior solar devices, while utilities may be concerned about safety, interconnection standards, liability, and the loss of control over devices that bypass net metering and approval processes. Another possible point of debate is whether the exemption for small portable solar devices could create enforcement or consumer-protection issues, though the bill attempts to address this by requiring code compliance, certification, and outage protection features.