RD169 - Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Virginia Power 2017 Integrated Resource Plan – May 1, 2017


Executive Summary:
Virginia Electric and Power Company ("Dominion" or the "Company") is pleased to submit to the Virginia State Corporation Commission ("Commission) its 2017 Integrated Resource Plan (the ''2017 Plan" or "Plan'') for the planning period of 2018-2032. The Plan is submitted in accordance with § 56-599 of the Code of Virginia. Simultaneously, the Plan is being filed as an update in North Carolina with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (''NCUC"). This filing is in accordance with §62-2 of the North Carolina General Statutes and Rule RS-60 of the Rules and Regulations of the NCUC.

As did its 2015 and 2016 predecessors, the 2017 Plan recognizes the extreme uncertainty facing the electric utility industry today, particularly regarding regulation of power station carbon dioxide ("CO2”) emissions. The U.S. Supreme Court's February 2016 stay of implementation of the federal Clean Power Plan ("CPP") issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") remains in place pending resolution of a federal court appeal. In March 2017, President Donald J. Trump also ordered the EPA to begin the process of reviewing the CPP and determining "as soon as practicable" whether to revise the final rule or withdraw it. On April 4, 2017, in response to the executive order, the EPA issued a notice that it was initiating a review of the CPP, which could lead to proceedings to revise or rescind the rule. Also, a work group created by an executive order from Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe continues to work toward its May 31, 2017 deadline of developing recommendations for state action to reduce CO2 emissions to levels similar to those mandated by the CPP.

Facing this high level of uncertainty, the 2017 Plan, as did the 2015 and 2016 Plans, presents no recommended path, or "Preferred Plan," for meeting our customers' future energy needs. Instead, it presents a range of options representing plausible paths forward under a variety of scenarios, ranging from the absence of carbon dioxide regulations - a situation considered unlikely by the Company - to full implementation of the strictest compliance scenarios incorporated in the CPP. These "Alternative Plans" are discussed in detail in the 2017 Plan.