Virginia 2019 Regular Session Status: In Committee

SB 711 — Electric utilities; community renewable projects.

Last action — Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House of Delegates
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2019 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Requires the State Corporation Commission to adopt rules under which community renewable projects are authorized to operate. A community renewable project is a solar-powered or wind-powered electric generation facility with a capacity of not more than 20 megawatts that is operated subject to the requirement that the electricity generated by the facility belongs to the project's subscribers. The facility may be owned either by the investor-owned electric utility or distribution cooperative in whose service territory the facility is located or a for-profit or nonprofit entity, which may be an entity entirely owned by or consisting of subscribers, that contracts to sell the electricity generated by the facility to the retail utility. The measure provides that neither the owner of a project nor its subscribers are public utilities and that prices paid for subscriptions in projects shall not be subject to regulation by the Commission. The measure also requires the retail utility to purchase all of the electricity generated by the project and that the purchase of the electricity by the utility shall take the form of a credit against the utility's electric bill to each of the project's subscribers. Finally, the measure requires the Commission to formulate and implement policies that simultaneously encourage (i) the ownership by customers of subscriptions in projects and of other forms of distributed generation to the extent the Commission finds there to be demand for such ownership; (ii) the development of projects with attributes that the Commission finds result in lower overall total costs for the retail utility's customers; and (iii) the successful financing and operation of subscriber-owned projects.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

  2. Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/10/18 18102547D

Sponsors

  • Jennifer T. Wexton · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • Jennifer T. Wexton

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

environment energy
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 711 do?
Requires the State Corporation Commission to adopt rules under which community renewable projects are authorized to operate. A community renewable project is a solar-powered or wind-powered electric generation facility with a capacity of not more than 20 megawatts that is operated subject to the requirement that the electricity generated by the facility belongs to the project's subscribers. The facility may be owned either by the investor-owned electric utility or distribution cooperative in whose service territory the facility is located or a for-profit or nonprofit entity, which may be an entity entirely owned by or consisting of subscribers, that contracts to sell the electricity generated by the facility to the retail utility. The measure provides that neither the owner of a project nor its subscribers are public utilities and that prices paid for subscriptions in projects shall not be subject to regulation by the Commission. The measure also requires the retail utility to purchase all of the electricity generated by the project and that the purchase of the electricity by the utility shall take the form of a credit against the utility's electric bill to each of the project's subscribers. Finally, the measure requires the Commission to formulate and implement policies that simultaneously encourage (i) the ownership by customers of subscriptions in projects and of other forms of distributed generation to the extent the Commission finds there to be demand for such ownership; (ii) the development of projects with attributes that the Commission finds result in lower overall total costs for the retail utility's customers; and (iii) the successful financing and operation of subscriber-owned projects.
Who sponsors SB 711?
SB 711 is sponsored by Jennifer T. Wexton.
What is the current status of SB 711?
This bill died with 2019 Regular Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 711?
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