republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2017/sb-1393.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs.	Requires Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to conduct a community solar pilot program for retail customers. A pilot program will authorize the participating utility to sell electric power to subscribing customers under a voluntary companion rate schedule, and the utility will generate or purchase the electric power from eligible generation facilities selected for inclusion in the pilot program. An eligible generation facility is an electrical generation facility that (i) exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; (ii) is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; (iii) is not constructed by an investor-owned utility but is acquired by an investor-owned utility through an asset purchase agreement or is subject to a power purchase agreement under which the utility purchases the facility's output from a third party; and (iv) has a generating capacity not exceeding two megawatts, subject to an exception. Pilot programs will have a three-year duration unless renewed or made permanent by appropriate legislation. The measure requires an investor-owned utility to select eligible generating facilities for dedication to its pilot program through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The minimum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 0.5 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 10 MW. The maximum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 10 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 40 MW. The measure establishes a procedure through which an investor-owned utility may increase the generating capacity of facilities in its pilot program above the amount most recently approved by the State Corporation Commission. The measure provides that an investor-owned utility may recover pilot program costs that are not recovered through the voluntary companion rate schedule through variable-output contracts with participating third parties. A subscribing customer's usage above the amount subscribed for the voluntary companion rate schedule shall be billed under the customer's applicable standard rate. The measure authorizes a utility consumer services cooperative to conduct a pilot program and gives the cooperative flexibility in designing its program and voluntary companion rate schedule. The measure declares that the participation of retail customers in a pilot program is in the public interest and that the voluntary companion rate schedules approved are necessary in order to acquire information that is in furtherance of the public interest. The measure requires the Commission to approve the recovery of pilot program costs that it deems to be reasonable and prudent, the pilot program design, the voluntary companion rate schedule, and the portfolio of participating generating facilities. Commission review or approval is not required for individual participating generating facilities, agreements, sites, or RFPs. The measure provides that an approved voluntary companion rate schedule shall not be considered a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. An enactment clause directs investor-owned utilities, prior to submitting a proposal for a pilot program, to examine, in cooperation with representatives of relevant governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities, options to facilitate the subscribing by low-income customers to the utility's pilot program. Another enactment clause requires participating utilities to disclose to subscribing customers the cost difference between the voluntary companion rate schedule and rate the customer would pay if it was not a subscriber.	us/states/va	Virginia General Assembly	2017	SB 1393	Virginia SB 1393 (2017)	bill	Commissions Boards and Institutions Generally Energy Conservation and Resources Public Service Companies State Corporation Commission Study Commissions Committees and Reports	enacted	Frank W. Wagner	4	22	6	2017-01-11	2017-03-16	openstates	ocd-bill/4d8c0df3-c8f1-44bb-990e-0c0aff3fb249	http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?171+sum+SB1393	d3d94412d76f2ea6fb8b7a2ffb03ad98444a02516da4b37ac6e888d8d5c4b47f	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-va

Virginia SB 1393 (2017) — Electric utilities; community solar pilot programs.

Requires Dominion Virginia Power and Appalachian Power to conduct a community solar pilot program for retail customers. A pilot program will authorize the participating utility to sell electric power to subscribing customers under a voluntary companion rate schedule, and the utility will generate or purchase the electric power from eligible generation facilities selected for inclusion in the pilot program. An eligible generation facility is an electrical generation facility that (i) exclusively uses energy derived from sunlight; (ii) is placed in service on or after July 1, 2017; (iii) is not constructed by an investor-owned utility but is acquired by an investor-owned utility through an asset purchase agreement or is subject to a power purchase agreement under which the utility purchases the facility's output from a third party; and (iv) has a generating capacity not exceeding two megawatts, subject to an exception. Pilot programs will have a three-year duration unless renewed or made permanent by appropriate legislation. The measure requires an investor-owned utility to select eligible generating facilities for dedication to its pilot program through a request for proposal (RFP) process. The minimum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 0.5 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 10 MW. The maximum generating capacity of the eligible generating facilities in Appalachian Power's pilot program is 10 MW and in Dominion's pilot program is 40 MW. The measure establishes a procedure through which an investor-owned utility may increase the generating capacity of facilities in its pilot program above the amount most recently approved by the State Corporation Commission. The measure provides that an investor-owned utility may recover pilot program costs that are not recovered through the voluntary companion rate schedule through variable-output contracts with participating third parties. A subscribing customer's usage above the amount subscribed for the voluntary companion rate schedule shall be billed under the customer's applicable standard rate. The measure authorizes a utility consumer services cooperative to conduct a pilot program and gives the cooperative flexibility in designing its program and voluntary companion rate schedule. The measure declares that the participation of retail customers in a pilot program is in the public interest and that the voluntary companion rate schedules approved are necessary in order to acquire information that is in furtherance of the public interest. The measure requires the Commission to approve the recovery of pilot program costs that it deems to be reasonable and prudent, the pilot program design, the voluntary companion rate schedule, and the portfolio of participating generating facilities. Commission review or approval is not required for individual participating generating facilities, agreements, sites, or RFPs. The measure provides that an approved voluntary companion rate schedule shall not be considered a tariff for electric energy provided 100 percent from renewable energy. An enactment clause directs investor-owned utilities, prior to submitting a proposal for a pilot program, to examine, in cooperation with representatives of relevant governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities, options to facilitate the subscribing by low-income customers to the utility's pilot program. Another enactment clause requires participating utilities to disclose to subscribing customers the cost difference between the voluntary companion rate schedule and rate the customer would pay if it was not a subscriber.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0580) (committee substitute) — source
2. Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB1393ER) (committee substitute) — source
3. Senate: Committee substitute printed 17104340D-S1 (committee substitute) — source
4. Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102602D (committee substitute) — source

Votes

• Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute — 14–0 (pass) · legislature
• Read third time and passed Senate — 39–0 (pass) · legislature
• Passed House with amendment — 91–2 (pass) · legislature
• House amendment agreed to by Senate — 39–0 (pass) · legislature
• Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendment — 21–0 (pass) · legislature
• Constitutional reading dispensed — 40–0 (pass) · legislature

Sponsors

• Frank W. Wagner — primary (person)
• Adam P. Ebbin — cosponsor (person)
• Jennifer T. Wexton (incorporated chief co-patron) — cosponsor (person)
• Jeremy S. McPike — cosponsor (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2017-01-11 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/17 17102602D introduction
• 2017-01-11 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor referral-committee
• 2017-01-18 Assigned C&L sub: Renewable Energy referral-committee
• 2017-01-31 Incorporates SB1208 (Wexton)
• 2017-02-02 Read second time reading-2
• 2017-02-02 Reading of substitute waived
• 2017-02-02 Committee substitute agreed to 17104340D-S1
• 2017-02-02 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute SB1393S1
• 2017-02-08 Placed on Calendar
• 2017-02-08 Read first time reading-1
• 2017-02-08 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor referral-committee
• 2017-02-20 Read second time reading-2
• 2017-02-21 Read third time reading-3
• 2017-02-21 Committee amendment agreed to
• 2017-02-21 Engrossed by House as amended
• 2017-02-21 Passed House with amendment (91-Y 2-N 2-A) passage
• 2017-03-07 Enrolled
• 2017-03-07 Signed by Speaker
• 2017-03-10 Signed by President
• 2017-03-13 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on 3/13/17
• 2017-03-13 Governor's Action Deadline Midnight, March 27, 2017
• 2017-03-16 Approved by Governor-Chapter 580 (effective 7/1/17) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/4d8c0df3-c8f1-44bb-990e-0c0aff3fb249. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).