SB 1100: Virtual power plant pilot program; each Phase II Utility shall petition SCC for approval to conduct. - Virginia

Governor Substitute Not Adopted → Chaptered · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from a Senate Substitute proposing an evaluation study to a Chaptered Act that mandates Phase II Utilities to conduct a virtual power plant pilot program. The final version establishes specific deadlines, program size limits, and operational requirements for utilities to implement and evaluate these programs.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a general evaluation study of virtual power plants to a mandatory pilot program requiring Phase II Utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval and implement specific program components.

REQUIREMENT

Changed from a study to a mandatory pilot program requiring utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval by December 1, 2025.

Added specific program size requirements, including aggregations totaling up to 450 megawatts for Phase II Utilities.

Added requirement for utilities to demonstrate evaluation of U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunities.

Added specific program components requiring at least 15 megawatts of residential battery storage incentives and a broader electric school bus program.

Added requirement that electric utilities cannot own electric school buses but may own related storage batteries.

Added requirement for utilities to consider lessons learned from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 2222 by PJM Interconnection.

TIMELINE

Added specific deadlines including November 15, 2026 for tariff petitions and July 1, 2028 for initial program conclusion.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for aggregator, distributed energy resource, eligible technology, grid event, grid service, and historically economically disadvantaged community.

Labor and Commerce Substitute → Governor Substitute Not Adopted · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill was changed from a House substitute requiring electric utilities to petition for approval to run a virtual power plant pilot program to a Senate substitute that instead directs the State Corporation Commission to evaluate and assess virtual power plant programs. The original House version included specific requirements for pilot program design, customer enrollment targets, and permanent program establishment, while the new Senate version shifts focus to a broader evaluation and assessment process without mandating specific pilot program details.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from requiring electric utilities to conduct a specific pilot program to directing the State Corporation Commission to evaluate and assess virtual power plant programs for both Phase I and Phase II Utilities.

REQUIREMENT

Removed requirement for electric utilities to petition the State Corporation Commission for approval to conduct a virtual power plant pilot program.

Added requirement for the State Corporation Commission to conduct an ex parte proceeding to evaluate and assess benefits, impacts, best practices, and implementation recommendations for virtual power plant programs.

Removed detailed requirements for pilot program design, including 450 megawatt capacity limit, 15 megawatt residential battery storage incentive, and electric school bus program provisions.

TIMELINE

Removed specific deadlines for pilot program implementation, including December 1, 2025 petition deadline and July 1, 2028 program conclusion date.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded applicability to include both Phase I and Phase II Utilities in the evaluation process, whereas the original version only mentioned Phase II Utilities.

DEFINITION

Removed detailed definitions for aggregator, distributed energy resource, eligible technology, grid event, grid service, and historically economically disadvantaged community.

Commerce and Labor Substitute → Labor and Commerce Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transferred from the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor to the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, changing the committee jurisdiction. The substantive policy content of the virtual power plant pilot program remains largely the same, though the House version adds specific clarification that electric utilities cannot own electric school buses but may own related storage batteries, and restricts battery use to times when buses are not transporting students.

Scope change

Committee jurisdiction changed from Senate Commerce and Labor to House Labor and Commerce; otherwise scope remains the same

COMMITTEE_JURISDICTION

Bill moved from Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor to House Committee on Labor and Commerce

REQUIREMENT

Added specific requirement that electric utilities cannot own electric school buses in the program, though they may own related storage batteries

Added restriction that school bus storage batteries can only be used when the school system determines buses are not needed for student transport

DEFINITION

Minor formatting changes to definitions section, including removal of 'its affiliates' from aggregator definition and slight rewording of distributed energy resource definition

Enrolled → Commerce and Labor Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was converted from an Enrolled version to a Senate Substitute version, primarily changing the formatting and adding committee attribution details. The substantive policy language regarding virtual power plant pilot programs, utility obligations, and program requirements remains unchanged. This is a procedural revision rather than a policy modification.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the policy content remains identical to the Enrolled version.

TECHNICAL

Removed the 'VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER' header and replaced it with Senate Substitute formatting including bill number, committee attribution, and patron information.

Added page numbers and line numbers typical of Senate substitute documents, replacing the original Enrolled document formatting.

Removed the 'Approved' status line that appeared in the Enrolled version.

Added Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor attribution and Senator Hashmi as the patron.

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · May 2, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act with several substantive policy changes. The most significant change is that the pilot program now only applies to Phase II Utilities (larger utilities) rather than both Phase I and Phase II Utilities. The definition of 'electric utility' was narrowed to exclude Phase I Utilities. Additionally, the definition of 'distributed energy resource' was updated to include a size limit of up to five megawatts and requires resources to be located on customer premises or interconnected with the distribution system. The definition of 'eligible technology' was added to require that resources do not emit carbon dioxide. The electric school bus program requirements were expanded to specify that utilities cannot own the buses themselves, only the storage batteries, and batteries can only be used when buses are not transporting students. The aggregator definition was expanded to include individuals and to require nondiscriminatory access to customer and grid data.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from applying to all electric utilities (Phase I and Phase II) to only Phase II Utilities, which are larger utilities.

SCOPE

Pilot program applicability was changed from all electric utilities to only Phase II Utilities, excluding Phase I Utilities from the requirements.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'distributed energy resource' was updated to include a five megawatt size limit and specify that resources must be located on customer premises or interconnected with the distribution system.

A new definition for 'eligible technology' was added, requiring that distributed energy resources do not emit carbon dioxide as a byproduct of fuel combustion or manufacturing.

The definition of 'aggregator' was expanded to include individuals and to require nondiscriminatory access to necessary customer and grid data from the utility.

REQUIREMENT

The electric school bus program requirements were expanded to specify that utilities cannot own the buses themselves, only the storage batteries, and batteries can only be used when buses are not transporting students.

The requirement for utilities to demonstrate evaluation of U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunities was retained but the formatting was changed to match enrolled bill standards.

Virtual power plant pilot program; each Phase II Utility shall petition SCC for approval to conduct.

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