RD716 - Status Report: Implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act Pursuant to §§ 56-596 B and 30-205 of the Code of Virginia – October 31, 2025
Executive Summary: This document contains the report of the Virginia State Corporation Commission (“Commission") pursuant to §§ 56-596 B and 30-205 of the Code of Virginia (“Code"), which directs the Commission to provide an update by November 1 of each year on the status of the implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act, Code §§ 56-576 through 56-596.6 (“Regulation Act").(*1) The Regulation Act has expanded in recent years with new programs and requirements that fall within the Commission’s purview. This report summarizes the Commission’s efforts to implement the Regulation Act for investor-owned electric utilities(*2) as well as for the electric cooperatives. Key highlights from this report include: • As a result of projected large load growth occurring in the Commonwealth due to data centers, or retail large-use hyperscale customers, the Commission issued its Scheduling Order and Notice of Technical Conference on October 2, 2024, to explore these emerging issues. Specifically, this exploratory proceeding and technical conference sought information related to current and projected future challenges presented by serving various types of large-use hyperscale customers from the perspective of electric cooperatives, investor-owned electric utilities, existing customers, and potential new load. This proceeding explored the identification of one or more potential frameworks that could be used by electric cooperatives and investor-owned electric utilities to serve potential new large-use customer load. The technical conference occurred on December 16, 2024, and was open to the public. After the technical conference, the Commission invited all interested persons to submit post-technical conference comments addressing some or all of the issues raised during the technical conference on or before January 17, 2025. On October 23, 2025, the Commission issued its Scheduling Order and Notice of Technical Conference on Large Load Flexibility, convening a Commissioner-led technical conference focused around data center load flexibility on December 12, 2025. • The Commission continues to implement the requirements of the Virginia Clean Economy Act (“VCEA").(*3) The VCEA includes provisions establishing a mandatory Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (“RPS") and an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard. The relevant Commission dockets that implement or update these programs, as well as the dockets that continue to provide oversight of the utility’s existing operations, are summarized in Section IV, below. • On September 23, 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order concerning its review of Dominion Energy Virginia’s (“Dominion" or “DEV") petition for approval of Phase IIIB of DEV’s Grid Transformation (“GT") Plan, its most recent GT Plan petition.(*4) The approved GT Plan investments focus on grid reliability and are designed to accommodate or facilitate the expected increase in distributed energy resources on the grid resulting from recent policy developments, including the VCEA and FERC(*5) Order 2222. Approved Phase IIIB investments include: (i) mainfeeder hardening; (ii) an outage management system; and (iii) a new remote sensing, image management, and analytical program. The Commission’s approval of these projects was made subject to certain contingencies, and reporting requirements. • On April 15, 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order on DEV’s 2024 RPS Filing wherein it: (i) approved DEV’s 2024 RPS Plan as reasonable and prudent; (ii) granted certificates of public convenience and necessity (“CPCNs") and approved approximately 214 megawatts (“MW") of new solar generation capacity in the Commonwealth; (iii) found that 479 MW of solar power purchase agreements (“PPAs") and 377 MW of storage PPAs were prudent; and (iv) approved, to recover through Rider CE, the costs of the CE-5 Projects (and related interconnection facilities) and CE-5 PPAs, and the costs of solar projects (and related interconnection facilities) and PPAs approved by the Commission in prior RPS filing proceedings.(*6) The Commission also established additional directives regarding DEV’s modeling in its subsequent RPS Plans. DEV made its 2025 RPS filing on October 15, 2025.(*7) In the 2025 DEV RPS Petition, DEV includes three modeling scenarios. Two of the pertinent plans are as follows: o A Preferred Plan which is a least cost VCEA compliant portfolio that meets all applicable requirements of the VCEA and then selects resources on a least-cost basis. This plan contemplates 33,448 MW of new resources. The Company’s long term billing analysis shows that under the Preferred Plan, residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (“kWh") per month will be charged approximately $255.72 per month by 2035, or a 60% percent increase compared to the October 2025 customer bill of $159.57. By 2045, the residential bill is calculated to be $268.65 or 68% higher than October 2025. o A Forced Retirement Plan which forces retirements of the carbon emitting fleet by 2045. This plan contemplates 48,347 MW of new resources, including two 2,200 MW nuclear power stations. The construction capital expenditure for the Forced Retirement Plan is approximately $270 billion or $180 billion more than the Preferred Plan. The Company’s long term billing analysis shows that under the Forced Retirement Plan, residential customers using 1,000 kWh per month will be charged approximately $289.26 per month by 2035, or an 80% percent increase compared to the October 2025 customer bill of $159.57. By 2045, the residential bill is calculated to be $375.58 or 135% higher than October 2025. o The implementation of the proposed Rider CE on May 1, 2026, will incrementally increase the typical residential customer's monthly bill, based on 1,000 kWh per month, by $3.20 when compared to the current Rider CE. This represents a 51% increase, and a total charge of $9.50. • On May 14, 2025, APCo submitted its application for approval of its 2025 RPS plan to develop solar, wind, and energy storage resources as required by the VCEA pursuant to § 56-585.5 D 4. APCo estimates that by 2044, it may have 3,603 MW (nameplate) of solar (including owned co-located solar), 300 MW (nameplate) of wind, 300 MW (nameplate) of small modular nuclear reactors, and 300 MW (nameplate) of energy storage, through a mix of company-owned resources and PPAs, to meet the requirements of the VCEA. The petition is currently pending before the Commission. • On February 27, 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order establishing energy efficiency savings targets for DEV pursuant to Code §§ 56-596.2 B 3 and 56-596.2:2. The Commission established the following energy savings targets: 3.00% for 2026; 4.00% for 2027; and 5.00% for 2028.(*8) • On February 28. 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order establishing energy efficiency savings targets for Appalachian Power Company (“APCo") pursuant to Code §§ 56-596.2 B 3. The Commission established the following energy savings targets: 3.00% for 2026; 3.50% for 2027; and 4.00% for 2028.(*9) • On August 13, 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order on DEV’s annual Demand Side Management (“DSM") filing that approved, among other things: (i) DEV’s proposed Phase XII DSM Programs, including proposed enhancement and expansion of certain previously approved programs; and (ii) cost recovery through associated rate adjustment clauses (“RACs").(*10) Further, the Commission directed DEV to prepare and file with its next DSM update, and each subsequent DSM update, a plan that details the specific steps the Company will take to meet the mandated energy savings targets in 2026-2028, including how these proposed steps will lead to achievement of the savings targets established by the Commission; how the Company will achieve the VCEA-mandated 15% budget proposal for Income and Age Qualifying (“IAQ") Programs; and a detailed project management plan and risk management strategy that demonstrates the Company has identified and planned for the deployment of resources required to implement the revised programs and meet its mandated savings targets. • On July 17, 2025, the Commission issued a Final Order on DEV’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP") that found DEV’s 2024 IRP legally sufficient under both Code § 56-597 et seq. and the Commission’s Integrated Resource Planning Guidelines. Additionally, the Commission required in future IRP filings for Dominion to: (i) Provide a least-cost plan and to identify and provide its preferred plan over a 20-year study period in its next IRP filing; (ii) Provide at least one model run where carbon-emitting generation is retired in accordance with the default targets of the VCEA; (iii) Model achievement of the final savings targets approved in Case No. PUR-2023-00227; (iv) Include a base rate component in the Company’s bill impact analyses; and (v) Include a narrative discussion of Grid Enhancing Technologies (“GETs") and advanced conductors on the Company’s system, particularly regarding their role in ensuring grid reliability and safeguarding cybersecurity and physical security of the electric distribution grid. Finally, the Commission sunset a number of filing requirements that had grown stale with the passage of time.(*11) DEV Bill Impacts • From July 1, 2007,(*12) to July 1, 2025, DEV’s typical(*13) monthly residential bill has increased by $59.33 (65.49%); i.e., from $90.59 to $149.92. Over the 12 months ended July 1, 2025, DEV’s typical monthly residential bill has increased by $8.75. • On May 1, 2024, Dominion filed an application to reduce its fuel factor. The Commission issued an Order Establishing 2024-2025 Fuel Factor on January 15, 2025, wherein it approved an approximate $7.85 reduction in the monthly bill of a typical residential customer for usage on and after July 1, 2024.(*14) • On March 31, 2025, Dominion filed an application to increase its fuel factor. The Commission permitted Dominion to increase its fuel factor on an interim basis, which resulted in an approximate $8.95 increase in the monthly bill of a typical residential customer for usage beginning July 1, 2025.(*15) The case is currently pending before the Commission. • Based on DEV’s analysis presented in the 2024 DEV IRP, which incorporated the requirements of the VCEA and provided bill impact analysis through 2039, DEV projects that the monthly bill of a typical Virginia residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month is projected to be between $214.24 and $315.25 by 2039.(*16) This represents a monthly increase of between $98.06 and $199.07 relative to the same residential customer’s bill as of May 1, 2020, or an annual increase of between $1,176.72 and $2,388.84. • DEI(*17) presented a business update to investors on February 12, 2025. DEI identified approximately $41.2 billion in anticipated capital expenditures for DEV over the period from 2025 – 2029, including investments in zero-carbon generation, generation reliability, transmission and distribution resiliency, and grid transformation. If sought for cost recovery, these investments potentially reflect a 68% increase in DEV’s rate base by 2029, with 62% potentially recoverable from customers through RACs. APCo Bill Impacts • APCo’s typical monthly residential bill has increased by $107.02 (160.67%), i.e., from $66.61 to $173.63, from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2025. Over the 12 months ending July 1, 2025, APCo’s typical monthly residential bill has increased by $1.54. • The Commission issued its Final Order in the 2024 biennial review on November 20, 2024.(*18) Among other things, the Commission ordered a revenue requirement increase of $9.8 million. • Based on APCo’s billing analysis contained in its 2025 RPS Plan,(*19) showing projected monthly impacts of the VCEA to a residential bill through 2039, the monthly bill of a Virginia residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month is projected to be approximately $214.88, an increase of $35.92 per month over the typical 2024 residential bill over this period. (*20) In accordance with the provisions of Code §§ 56-585.8, 56-597, and 56-599, APCo is not required to file future IRPs. |