Below is our firm’s summary of notable energy regulatory activity at the Virginia State Corporation Commission (“SCC” or “Commission”) during September, 2025. 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.
General rate proceedings and resource planning:
- SCC holds evidentiary hearing regarding Dominion Energy 2025 biennial review application – Case No. PUR-2025-00058
On March 31, 2025, Dominion Energy Virginia filed an application for a biennial review of its rates and terms and conditions of service. Dominion requested a $631 million increase to its base rates and for capacity cost recovery to be shifted to the company’s fuel rider. Dominion proposes for the revenue increase to be staggered, with a $458 million annual revenue increase starting 1/1/2026 and an additional $173 million annual revenue increase starting on 1/1/2027. Dominion estimates that this would add about $10.50/month to a 1,000kWh residential bill. The utility claims that it will need to invest $40 billion in capital projects over the next 5 years. The application cites the need to upgrade gas generation plants and new distribution facilities to accommodate load growth.
Dominion requests an increase to its current authorized rate of return. The utility’s current authorized return is 9.7%. The application requests an increase to 10.4%. Dominion also proposes a new rate schedule for “high load” customers, including data centers. The proposed terms and conditions include minimum contract demand provisions and collateral requirements for customers with 25MW+ of demand.
On July 16, sixteen intervening parties filed direct witness testimony. Direct testimony was filed by consumer and environmental organizations, data centers, commercial and industrial advocates, and the Attorney General. The various testimony addresses issues such as rate design, Dominion’s requested rate of return, and the reasonableness of Dominion’s historic and projected expenditures. Several parties addressed Dominion’s proposal to establish a high-load customer rate class.
The SCC held an evidentiary hearing on Dominion’s biennial review application between September 2 and September 12. Under the statute, the Commission must complete its review and publish a final order by November 30.
- SCC approves decrease to Dominion environmental rate rider – Case No. PUR-2025-00017
On January 23, Dominion Energy Virginia filed a petition to adjust its environmental rate adjustment clause. The rider, designated “Rider E,” allows Dominion to recover costs to comply with state and federal environmental laws. Rider E primarily recovers costs incurred to comply with environmental regulations at the company’s Bremo, Chesterfield, Clover, and Mt. Storm Power Stations. Dominion’s filing also includes an update on environmental projects at the company’s Chesterfield and Mt. Storm coal facilities. The Virginia Code, at Section 56-585.1(A)(5)(e), allows utilities to recover these costs through single-issue riders that are updated annually.
The SCC approved Dominion’s petition in a final order published on September 23. The SCC’s order authorizes a decrease to the Rider E rate, which is expected to decrease the monthly bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per month by $0.72.
Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification programs:
- SCC holds evidentiary hearing regarding interconnection standards for distributed energy resources – Case No. PUR-2024-00211
On January 22, 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. There is no deadline for the Commission to publish a final order in this matter.
- SCC publishes final regulations regarding a single cost effectiveness test for future energy efficiency programs – Case No. PUR-2024-00120
On July 17, 2024, the SCC published an order opening a docket for the purpose of “establishing a single, consistent cost-effectiveness test for use in evaluating proposed energy efficiency programs.” Virginia’s two largest electric utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Company, are required to implement energy efficiency programs to achieve increasing energy savings targets. 2024 legislation required the SCC to initiate a proceeding to develop a single cost effectiveness test to evaluate new programs and “to further the Commonwealth’s energy policy requirements and goals.”
On May 13, 2025, the Commission published an order including draft regulations. The regulations state that, beginning in 2029, utilities “shall analyze cost effectiveness primarily using a Virginia jurisdiction-specific test (JST),” which shall include “all utility system impacts that are material to energy efficiency and/or demand response measures … as well as other fuel impacts, greenhouse gas emission impacts, and other environmental impacts.”
The SCC published final rules in a September 16 Order Adopting Regulations. The final regulations incorporate several recommendations from the SCC Staff. The order directs utilities to analyze program cost effectiveness using the Virginia JST beginning in 2029.
- SCC approves Dominion grid transformation investments – Case No. PUR-2025-00051
On March 31, 2023, Dominion Energy Virginia filed a petition for approval of a new phase of its Grid Transformation Plan pursuant to § 56-585.1(A)(6) of the Code of Virginia. Dominion requested approval of “Phase III” of a ten-year plan to transform its electric distribution grid. Phase III consists of approximately $1 billion of capital investments to be completed in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The largest Phase III investments are associated with “grid hardening” projects that Dominion claims are necessary to reduce customer outages. The SCC approved Dominion’s plan in a final order published on September 18, 2023.
Dominion filed an update to Phase III of its Grid Transformation Plan, designated “Phase IIIB,” on March 24, 2025. The update includes data on project costs incurred and effects on outage times. The update also requests approval to continue investments in main feeder hardening and the utility’s Outage Management System.
The SCC approved Dominion’s updated Grid Transformation Plan in a final order published on September 23. The final order imposed cost caps of $235 and $19 million for capital investments in mainfeeder hardening and Dominion’s Outage Management System, respectively. The order also directed Dominion to provide updates on reliability performance as part of its next grid transformation plan filing. The order does not include a projected consumer rate impact associated with the approved investments.
- Dominion files update on EV charging rates and tariffs – Case No. PUR-2021-00151
On September 27, Dominion Energy Virginia filed a bi-annual update regarding its SCC-approved electric vehicle charging tariffs and rates. The SCC approved the five voluntary tariffs designed to support electric vehicle charging in the Commonwealth in a July 2022 order. In its bi-annual update, Dominion describes the current rates and utility-owned and publicly available charging stations in its service territory. Dominion also reports that 279 customers are enrolled in the company’s residential charging tariff, including 51 customers who qualify as “low-income.” Two customers are currently enrolled in the company’s fleet tariff for commercial and industrial customers. Dominion states that charging infrastructure is in the design and engineering phase for several commercial and industrial customers who will subscribe to charging tariffs in the future.
- SCC Staff files revised draft regulations regarding metrics to evaluate electric utility performance in future rate cases – Case No. PUR-2023-00210
On December 12, 2023, the SCC published an order establishing a proceeding to determine metrics to evaluate the performance of Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power in future rate cases. The 2023 General Assembly amended the electric utility code, at Va. Code § 56-585.1(A)(2)(c), to provide that “[t]he Commission may increase or decrease the utility’s combined rate of return for generation and distribution services by up to 50 basis points based on factors that may include reliability, generating plant performance, customer service, and operating efficiency.” The statute also provides that “[a]ny such adjustment to the combined rate of return for generation and distribution services shall include consideration of nationally recognized standards determined by the Commission to be appropriate for such purposes.”
The SCC published an Order Establishing Rulemaking on May 30, 2025. Attachment A to the Order includes draft regulations developed by the Commission Staff. On October 1, the Commission Staff filed revised regulations. The filing includes responses to comments filed by Dominion, APCo, the Attorney General, and the Southern Environmental Law Center.
The metrics established in this case will be used in biennial reviews occurring after January 1, 2027.
- Renewable and environmental advocates file direct testimony regarding Dominion Energy’s proposed minimum bill for shared solar program – Case No. PUR-2025-00031
On May 1, Dominion Energy Virginia filed an application for approval of a minimum bill for its shared solar program. The application was filed pursuant to Va. Code § 56-594.3. The statute requires the SCC to establish a minimum bill for the shared solar program. The statute provides that the minimum bill shall “include the costs of all utility infrastructure and services used to provide electric service and administrative costs of the shared solar program.” The minimum bill must ensure that shared solar customers pay their “fair share” of the utility’s costs.
Dominion describes the minimum bill as “the least amount that Program participants must pay on their monthly bill, even after bill credits are applied.” The application proposes a minimum bill of $70.26 for a residential customer with a 1,000 kWh shared solar subscription. The proposed minimum bill is based on Dominion’s calculation of a residential customer’s fixed monthly charges, shared solar administrative costs, and several non-bypassable rider charges. The application also includes a calculation that is intended to quantify the benefits provided by the shared solar generation facilities.
Several solar and environmental advocates filed expert witness testimony on September 3. Appalachian Voices filed expert witness testimony on September 3 calling Dominion’s proposed minimum bill unreasonable and “confiscatory.” The Coalition for Community Solar Access filed expert witness testimony arguing that, when considering the value to the system provided by shared solar projects, the minimum bill should be set at $0.00.
The SCC will hold an evidentiary hearing on October 22.
New energy infrastructure:
- SCC holds evidentiary hearing regarding proposed gas plant; utility defends its solicitation process – Case No. PUR-2025-00037
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.
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 notes a number of flaws in Dominion’s request for proposal process and the company’s economic analyses. Dominion filed rebuttal testimony in several volumes on September 2. Dominion’s testimony defends the projected need for the CERC project. The utility also defends the request for proposal process used to evaluate project alternatives.
The SCC held an evidentiary hearing beginning on September 23. Under Va. Code § 56-585.1(A)(6), the SCC must complete its review and publish a final order within 9 months from the filing date, or by December 3.
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