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2019 SESSION
19103268DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the fourteenth enactment of Chapter 296 of the Acts of Assembly of 2018 is amended and reenacted as follows:
14. That it is the objective of the General Assembly that
the construction and development of new utility-owned and utility-operated
generating facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight and from wind with
an aggregate capacity of 5,000 megawatts, including rooftop solar installations
with a capacity of not less than 50 kilowatts, and with an aggregate capacity
of 50 megawatts, be placed in service on or before July 1, 2028. The State
Corporation Commission (the Commission)
shall submit a report and make recommendations to the Governor and the General
Assembly annually on or before December 1 of each year through December 1,
2028, assessing (i) the aggregate annual new construction and development of
new utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities utilizing energy
derived from sunlight, (ii) the integration of utility-owned renewable electric
generation resources with the utility's electric distribution grid; (iii) the
aggregate additional utility-owned and utility-operated generating facilities
utilizing energy derived from sunlight placed in operation since July 1, 2018,
and (iv) the need for additional generation of electricity utilizing energy
derived from sunlight in order to meet the objective of the General Assembly on
or before July 1, 2028. The State Corporation
Commission shall submit copies of such annual reports to the Chairmen of the
House and Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and the Chairman of the
Commission on Electric Utility Regulation. Commencing
in 2020, the Commission shall conduct
annual proceedings in which it shall determine whether each Phase
I Utility and Phase II Utility, as such terms are defined in subdivision A 1 of
§ 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia, is making
satisfactory efforts to meet the objective of placing such generating
facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight and from wind in service on
or before July 1, 2028. A utility shall be presumed
to be consistently making satisfactory efforts to meet such objective if the
Phase I Utility and Phase II Utility construct solar and wind generating
facilities utilizing energy derived from sunlight and from wind each year with
an aggregate capacity commencing at 500 megawatts in 2020 and increasing by 100
megawatts each year over the amount constructed in the previous year. If the
Commission finds in such a proceeding that such a utility is not consistently
making satisfactory efforts to meet such objective,
in such proceeding the Commission shall determine
the amount of investment that the utility would have had to make in order to
have made satisfactory efforts in that year to meet such objective. Notwithstanding
any provision of § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia to the contrary, the Commission shall
direct the utility to credit to
customers' bills the amount of investment that the
utility would have had to make in order to have been found
to have made satisfactory efforts in that
year to meet such objective. Any such
credits shall be amortized over a period of six to 12 months, as determined at
the discretion of the Commission, following the effective date of the
Commission's order, and shall be allocated among customer classes such that the
relationship between the specific customer class rates of return to the overall
target rate of return will have the same relationship as the last approved
allocation of revenues used to design base rates.
2. That the fifteenth enactment of Chapter 296 of the Acts of Assembly of 2018 is amended and reenacted as follows:
15. That each Phase I Utility and Phase II Utility, as such terms are defined in subdivision A 1 of § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia, shall develop a proposed program of energy conservation measures. Any program shall provide for the submission of a petition or petitions for approval to design, implement, and operate energy efficiency programs pursuant to subdivision A 5 c of § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia. At least five percent of such energy efficiency programs shall benefit low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals. The projected costs for the utility to design, implement, and operate such energy efficiency programs, including a margin to be recovered on operating expenses, shall be no less than an aggregate amount of $140 million for a Phase I Utility and $870 million for a Phase II Utility for the period beginning July 1, 2018, and ending July 1, 2028, including any existing approved energy efficiency programs. In developing such portfolio of energy efficiency programs, each utility shall utilize a stakeholder process, to be facilitated by an independent monitor compensated under the funding provided pursuant to subdivision E of § 56-592.1 of the Code of Virginia, to provide input and feedback on the development of such energy efficiency programs. Such stakeholder process shall include representatives from each utility, the State Corporation Commission (the Commission), the office of Consumer Counsel of the Attorney General, the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, energy efficiency program implementers, energy efficiency providers, residential and small business customers, and any other interested stakeholder who the independent monitor deems appropriate for inclusion in such process. The utility shall report on the status of the energy efficiency program, including the petitions filed and the determination thereon, to the Governor, the State Corporation Commission, and the Chairmen of the House and Senate Commerce and Labor Committees on July 1, 2019, and annually thereafter through July 1, 2028. Commencing in 2020, the Commission shall conduct annual proceedings in which it shall determine whether each Phase I Utility and Phase II Utility is making satisfactory efforts to implement such energy efficiency programs. A utility shall be presumed to be consistently making satisfactory efforts to meet such objective if the Phase I Utility and Phase II Utility achieve reductions in electricity consumption of 0.2 percent in 2020, which percentage increases by 0.2 percent in each year thereafter until the reductions in electricity consumption total two percent in 2029. If the Commission finds in such a proceeding that such a utility is not consistently making satisfactory efforts to implement such energy efficiency programs, in such proceeding the Commission shall determine the amount of investment that the utility would have had to make in order to have made satisfactory efforts in that year to implement such energy efficiency programs. Notwithstanding any provision of § 56-585.1 of the Code of Virginia to the contrary, the Commission shall direct the utility to credit to customers' bills the amount of investment that the utility would have had to make in order to have made satisfactory efforts in that year to implement such energy efficiency programs. Any such credits shall be amortized over a period of six to 12 months, as determined at the discretion of the Commission, following the effective date of the Commission's order, and shall be allocated among customer classes such that the relationship between the specific customer class rates of return to the overall target rate of return will have the same relationship as the last approved allocation of revenues used to design base rates.