On March 3, 2025, Dominion Energy Virginia filed an application for approval to construct and operate a new gas-fired power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Dominion seeks a certificate of public convenience and necessity (“CPCN”) to construct and operate the proposed Chesterfield Energy Reliability Center (“CERC”). The facility would be located at the site of recently retired coal and gas units. Dominion states that the CERC would be an approximately 944MW “flexible fuel” generating facility. Dominion estimates that the facility will be operational by June 1, 2029. The application also seeks approval to recover the costs of the facility through a rate adjustment clause (“RAC”). Dominion estimates construction costs for the facility to be $1.47 billion, not including financing costs.
Intervening parties filed expert witness testimony on July 25. Several environmental and clean energy advocates filed testimony opposing Dominion’s application. The SCC Staff filed witness testimony in several volumes on August 19. The Staff “does not oppose approval” of the CERC project, but the testimony notes a number of flaws in Dominion’s request for proposal process and the company’s economic analyses.
The SCC held evidentiary hearing beginning September 23. The SCC published a final order approving the gas plant on November 25. The SCC found the gas plant to be needed, citing actual and projected demand growth in PJM and increases in PJM capacity prices.