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Virginia, with its short 60-day legislative session already moving quickly towards the back nine, House Bill HB2528 and Senate Bill SB1485, which would have loosened the considerable restrictions on C&I choice in the state, were left in committee and are unlikely to be brought to the floor of either house.

As introduced, electric utilities; customer energy choice; customer return to service; subscription cap and queue. 

This bill if passed would remove certain restrictions on the ability of individual retail customers of electric energy within the Commonwealth, regardless of customer class, to purchase electric energy matched 100 percent by renewable energy certificates from any supplier of electric energy licensed to sell retail electric energy within the Commonwealth. The bill requires a licensed supplier to match a percentage of each retail electric customer’s annual load with renewable energy certificates from within the PJM transmission region. The bill decreases from five years to six months the required written notice period for certain electric energy customers to return to service by an incumbent electric utility after purchasing electric energy from other suppliers.

The bill also directs the Commission, by October 1, 2026, to establish a subscription cap allowance for certain utility customers seeking to participate in purchasing electric energy from a licensed supplier. The Commission is required to review the subscription cap allowance every two years starting on January 1, 2028, and electric utilities are required to file their subscription queues with the Commission by January 15, 2027, and annually thereafter. The bill contains an exception to the subscription cap allowance for customers seeking to expand usage at an existing or new facility. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2026, unless the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated pursuant to the bill specify a commencement date.

HB2528
SB1485