RD861 - Combined Reports: Annual Report on Grid Modernization, Reliability, and Integration of Renewables Pursuant to Chapter 296 of the 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly, Annual Report on the Transmission Line Undergrounding Pilot Pursuant to Chapter 296 of the 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly, and Annual Report on Construction of New Solar and Wind Projects Pursuant to Chapter 296 of the 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly – December 1, 2024


Executive Summary:

This document contains the combined reports ("Report") of the Virginia State Corporation Commission ("Commission") submitted pursuant to several provisions of law. The Commission has reviewed and investigated each of the areas or topics listed below, and reports as follows:

Grid Modernization, Reliability, and Integration of Renewables (The Grid Transformation and Security Act ("GTSA"), 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly Chapter 296) and Infrastructure Investments to Improve Reliability (2022 Virginia Acts of Assembly Chapter 653):

Concerning reliability, Virginia electric utilities continue to participate in regional transmission planning through PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. ("PJM"), the entity that manages the electric grid primarily at transmission-level voltages. At the distribution level, the Commission monitors reliability in part through utility reports on measures related to tree-trimming and indices that measure frequency and duration of electricity service outages.

Utility-owned and third party-owned renewable generation resources are being added to the electric distribution grid. Before connecting utility-scale resources to the electric grid, owners must coordinate with the affected local utility and with PJM. Under certain circumstances, the projects are also subject to Commission approval.

Concerning grid security and grid hardening activities, the Commission has previously given approval for Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy Virginia ("DEV" or "Dominion") to implement, among other things, mainfeeder hardening, targeted corridor improvement, voltage island mitigation, hosting capacity analysis, and physical and cyber security.

Both DEV and Appalachian Power Company ("APCo") are expected to have sufficient capacity to meet peak energy demands in the near term, either through company-owned generation or market purchases. Both companies also continue to invest in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. During 2023, such annual investments were:

Company: Dominion Energy Virginia
Generation: $961.0 million
Transmission: $1,234.0 million
Distribution: $1,253.0 million

Company: Appalachian Power Company
Generation: $264.5 million
Transmission: $229.6 million
Distribution: $243.6 million

With respect to infrastructure investments to improve reliability, as part of recent GTSA filings, Dominion is performing: (i) mainfeeder hardening projects targeting improvements for poorly performing mainfeeder segments; (ii) targeted corridor upgrades that remediate ash tree mortality and apply herbicides for ground floor maintenance; (iii) substation technology deployment projects; and (iv) fault location, isolation, and service restoration projects ("FLISR").

Transmission Line Undergrounding Pilot (GTSA, 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly Chapter 296):

The GTSA established a pilot program for underground electric transmission lines ("Undergrounding Pilot"), consisting of two qualifying projects to be constructed in whole or in part underground. Dominion's Haymarket Project – specifically, its I-66 Hybrid Route – was the first project the Commission approved as part of the Undergrounding Pilot. According to DEV, this project has been energized and is currently in service as of the end of March 2022.

The Commission also approved, on June 24, 2021, another DEV construction project – Dominion's Partial Line #2010 230 kilovolt ("kV") Single Circuit Transmission Line Underground Pilot Project (Tysons-Future Spring Hill Substation) – as the second qualifying project under the Undergrounding Pilot program. This project is currently paused until 2026 due to delays in obtaining easements and difficulty in obtaining the necessary outages to complete construction. The project cost, originally estimated to be approximately $30.4 million, is currently estimated at $36 million, which represents an increase of approximately 18.4% over the original estimated cost. Due to the delays, Dominion anticipates that all work will be completed by the end of 2027. Construction of New Solar and Wind Projects (GTSA, 2018 Virginia Acts of Assembly

Chapter 296) and Storage Projects (2020 Virginia Acts of Assembly Chapter 1190):

Between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2024, Virginia utilities placed into operation solar and wind facilities totaling 1,777.80 megawatts ("MW") of nameplate generation capacity in the Commonwealth. Dominion also has under development approximately 6,296.85 MW of Company-owned and contracted nameplate solar generation and 2,587 MW of nameplate offshore wind generation capacity located off the Commonwealth's Atlantic shoreline.1 APCo currently has 339 MW of contracted nameplate solar generation capacity under development as of June 30, 2024. Third parties are also developing facilities that may provide approximately 5,007.68 MW of additional nameplate solar generation capacity in the Commonwealth. DEV has constructed five energy storage facilities for a total of 36 MW of energy storage in operation. Utilities, third-party generators, and electric cooperatives collectively have 1,670.20 MW of energy storage under development.