Below is our firm’s summary of notable energy regulatory activity at the Virginia State Corporation Commission (“SCC” or “Commission”) during January, 2026. Please contact attorneys Will Reisinger or Matt Gooch should you have any questions about these cases or Virginia’s energy market. ReisingerGooch PLC provides regulatory and transactional counsel to clean energy businesses, associations, and public interest organizations. The following is presented for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification programs:
- SCC Staff files testimony regarding Dominion Energy VCEA RPS Development Plan, cites “serious concerns” regarding customer affordability – Case No. PUR-2025-00148
On October 15, Dominion Energy Virginia (“Dominion”) filed a petition for approval of its 2025 renewable portfolio standard (“RPS”) Development Plan. Dominion also requests approval of new solar and storage projects. The petition is filed pursuant to the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (“VCEA”). The VCEA, at Va. Code § 56-585.5, requires Dominion to supply an increasing percentage of its electricity sales from clean energy resources. The law also requires Dominion to petition the SCC for approval of minimum quantities of solar and storage resources, located in Virginia, between 2020 and 2035.
Dominion’s 2025 RPS Development Plan describes the Company’s progress towards the VCEA RPS targets. The plan also explains how the company intends to obtain the additional renewable energy certificates necessary to comply with future RPS targets. Dominion’s petition requests approval to construct 6 new solar projects, totaling 845 MW, two new storage projects totaling 155 MW, and to enter into agreements to purchase the output from 10 solar facilities totaling 439 MW. Dominion seeks to recover the costs of the new projects through an updated rate adjustment clause. The new project costs, if approved, would increase a monthly bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh by $3.20.
The SCC Staff filed direct testimony in several volumes on January 14. The Staff testimony opposes the majority of Dominion’s proposed solar projects, citing the negative net present values. The Staff also expresses “serious concerns about how rate affordability can be maintained while attempting to meet the [VCEA’s] RPS requirements given the current rate of load growth due to the data center industry.” The SCC will hold an evidentiary hearing on February 18.
- SCC approves Appalachian Power grid transformation proposal – Case No. PUR-2025-00098
On July 15, Appalachian Power Company (“APCo”) filed a grid transformation proposal pursuant to § 56-585.1(A)(6) of the Virginia Code. The Code allows utilities to request SCC approval of “grid transformation projects.” The statute provides that “any plan for electric distribution grid transformation projects shall include both measures to facilitate integration of distributed energy resources and measures to enhance physical electric distribution grid reliability and security.”
APCo’s grid transformation proposal includes, among other things, investments in “grid automation” and new substations and transformers. APCo claims that such investments will support grid resiliency while supporting the integration of distributed generation. APCo projects that the first phase of its grid distribution plan will cost $135 million. APCo is not seeking cost recovery as part of this request, but requests approval to defer all approved costs for future recovery.
The Commission held an evidentiary hearing on October 28. The SCC published a final order approving the grid transformation plan on January 15. The SCC approved the majority of APCo’s plan, but declined to approve certain substation investments that the SCC found are not needed at this time. The SCC also directed the utility to conduct additional reporting on the effectiveness of approved grid investments.
- SCC schedules combined hearing regarding Dominion Energy Virginia energy efficiency and Virtual Power Plant (VPP) proposals – Case Nos. PUR-2025-00210 and PUR-2025-00211
On December 1, 2025, Dominion Energy Virginia filed an application seeking approval of an update to its demand-side management program. Dominion seeks approval of a new portfolio of energy efficiency and demand response programs and extensions of existing low-income program bundles. Dominion proposes a cost cap of approximately $220.6 million for the new programs. The utility projects a small cost impact for residential customers.
Also on December 1, Dominion filed a separate application seeking approval of a Virtual Power Plant (“VPP”) pilot program pursuant to recently enacted legislation. This legislation, codified at Va. Code § 56-585.1:16, directs the utility to evaluate the aggregation of distributed energy resources to optimize system demand. The proposed pilot would aggregate certain demand-side and customer-owned resources using a distributed energy resource management system. The pilot would evaluate operational performance and potential system benefits associated with a VPP program.
The SCC published an order for notice and hearing on January 16. The Commission granted Dominion’s request to consolidate the two proceedings for procedural and hearing purposes. The SCC will hold an evidentiary hearing on May 18. Interested parties can intervene in this consolidated proceeding by filing a notice of participation on or before March 16.
- SCC approves new interconnection standards for Dominion Energy distributed generation resources – Case No. PUR-2024-00211
On January 22, 2025, the SCC scheduled an evidentiary hearing to consider standards for interconnecting distributed energy resources in Dominion’s service territory. The order for notice and hearing explained that the hearing will examine, among other things, when the utility may require certain fiber technology called “direct transfer trip” or “DTT.” The order states that the hearing will evaluate Dominion’s proposed methodology for determining when DTT is required for a particular generation facility. The order references Dominion’s November 15, 2024, proposal, which argues that DTT is “the fastest and most reliable way to isolate a fault and remove all sources.” Dominion’s filing also describes certain alternatives to DTT, which could be less costly for distributed resource owners.
Several advocacy organizations, including the Distributed Solar Alliance (“DSA”) and the Coalition for Community Solar Access (“CCSA”), opposed Dominion’s DTT proposal. The DSA’s expert witness testimony argues that Dominion’s DTT requirements for mid-sized net metered projects will force some projects to be cancelled or downsized. The CCSA filed expert testimony alleging that DTT is “typically an unnecessary and expensive mitigation option, costing between $500,000 and $1.5 million per project.”
The SCC held an evidentiary hearing on September 30 and October 1, 2025. The SCC published a final order approving Dominion’s proposed interconnection standards, including DTT. The order noted that DTT is a relatively common requirement among utilities. The order also noted that, “in making this finding, we acknowledge that DTT requirements can result in substantially higher costs for projects, with costs sometimes being so high that projects are downsized, delayed, or canceled.”
- SCC holds evidentiary hearing regarding Dominion Energy proposal to modify net metering program – Case No. PUR-2025-00079
On May 1, 2025, Dominion Energy Virginia filed a petition to revise its net metering program. Recent amendments to Va. Code § 56-594(E) require the SCC to conduct hearings to establish the net metering credit rates for both Dominion and Appalachian Power. The law requires the SCC to establish appropriate billing rates for net metering customers and to “make all reasonable efforts to ensure that the net energy metering program does not result in unreasonable cost-shifting to nonparticipating electric utility customers.”
In its petition, Dominion proposes to implement a “NEM 2.0” program. The NEM 2.0 proposal would transition from an annual “netting period” to “real-time netting.” Under “real-time netting,” Dominion would “net the inflow and outflow from a customer’s meter every half-hour, the outcome being that each half-hour interval will be a net consumption or net production interval.” Energy would be “netted each half-hour to be charged or credited accordingly.” Dominion’s NEM 2.0 proposal would also base customer compensation for excess generation on the per-MWh costs for Dominion’s current distributed solar PPAs. Finally, Dominion proposes new application and account maintenance fees for all net metering customers.
Several intervening parties filed direct testimony on October 30 opposing Dominion’s petition. Several environmental organizations filed expert witness testimony arguing that Dominion’s proposal, if adopted, would discourage customers from investing in on-site solar, while encouraging inefficient energy usage. The City of Alexandria filed direct testimony arguing that Dominion’s proposal, if adopted, would conflict with the City’s climate action plan. The SCC held an evidentiary hearing on January 20 and 21, 2026. Pursuant to the statute, the SCC must publish a final order on or before May 1, 2026.
Transmission and new energy infrastructure:
- Interested parties file legal briefs regarding Dominion Energy’s Golden-Mars transmission proposal; SCC Staff, other parties, urge Commission to address cost allocation for data center projects – Case No. PUR-2025-00056
On March 28, 2025, Dominion Energy Virginia filed an application for approval of a major transmission project in Loudoun County, in the vicinity of the Dulles International Airport. Dominion requests approval to construct a proposed 8.3-mile 230-500kV transmission line running from the company’s existing Golden to Mars substations. The company proposes five alternative routes in total, ranging from 8.3 to 9.8 miles in length. Dominion states that the transmission line would be located almost entirely in a new right-of-way of between 100 and 150 feet. Dominion states that the project is needed to serve projected load growth in Loudoun County, including data center development in “Data Center Alley.” Dominion’s proposed route, if approved, would cost approximately $402 million. The application does not include an estimated customer bill impact.
Under Virginia Code Sections 56-265.2 and 56.46.1, the Commission must determine whether the project is needed and whether it is designed to avoid or “reasonably minimize” adverse impacts to the environment. Several intervening parties, including Loudoun County, filed expert witness testimony on October 11. The County’s testimony recommends, among other things, that Dominion should be directed to bury a section of the proposed 8-mile Golden-Mars transmission line. The SCC Staff filed a Staff Report on November 12. The Staff Report found that the project is “needed” and recommends that the Commission approve an overhead route for the transmission line.
The SCC held an evidentiary hearing between January 8 and January 15. The parties filed post-hearing briefs on February 3. The key issues include whether it is feasible for Dominion to underground a portion of the transmission line in the vicinity of residential communities and whether high-load customers should be required to pay for the project costs. In their briefs, Dominion and the SCC Staff opposed Loudoun County’s undergrounding proposal. Several parties, including Loudoun County and the Piedmont Environmental Council, urged the Commission assign the Golden-Mars project costs to the high-load customer class who are responsible for the need for the transmission line. The SCC Staff brief also urged the Commission to address cost-allocation for data-center-driven projects, noting that “the time is more than ripe” for the Commission to consider this issue “given the rapid expansion of high load users in the Commonwealth.” The Staff argued that “expensive transmission costs that would otherwise be unnecessary should not be shouldered by the body of ratepayers.” There is no deadline for the SCC to publish a final order.
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