Bill > HB658

This bill directs the State Corporation Commission (SCC), Virginia's utility regulator, to conduct proceedings to review how costs are divided among different customer groups for certain electric utilities, specifically focusing on the impact on customers who are not data centers. For Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power (referred to as Phase I and Phase II Utilities), the SCC must determine by January 1, 2027, if the current allocation of transmission costs, which are the costs associated with moving electricity from where it's generated to where it's used, unfairly burdens non-data center customers by making them subsidize the transmission costs for data centers. Furthermore, for Dominion Energy (a Phase II Utility), the SCC must also examine by January 1, 2028, if the allocation of generation and distribution costs, which are the costs of producing electricity and delivering it to homes and businesses, similarly forces non-data center customers to unfairly subsidize data centers. In these proceedings, the SCC is instructed to ensure that costs for transmission projects built specifically for data centers are not passed on to other customers, with a presumption that projects classified as supplemental transmission projects by regional entities are primarily for data centers unless proven otherwise. The SCC is also empowered to adopt necessary regulations and has defined "data center" and "Phase I/II Utility" by referencing existing Virginia law, and clarifies that "transmission costs" can include related downstream infrastructure expenses.

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https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB658