HB 895 VA

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Electric utilities; energy storage resources; Department of Energy to develop model ordinances; State Corporation Commission to conduct technology demonstration program. Increases the targets for energy storage capacity that Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia are required to petition the State Corporation Commission (the Commission) for approval to construct, acquire, or procure and extends the time frame by which such capacity must be met. Under the bill, (i) Appalachian Power shall petition the Commission for approval to construct, acquire, or procure at least 780 megawatts of short-duration energy storage capacity by 2040 and 520 megawatts of long-duration energy storage capacity by 2045 and (ii) Dominion Energy Virginia shall petition the Commission for approval to construct, acquire, or procure at least 16,000 megawatts of short-duration energy storage capacity by 2045 and 4,000 megawatts of long-duration energy storage capacity by 2045. "Long-duration energy storage" and "short-duration energy storage" are defined in the bill. Under the bill, the Commission shall approve an independent auditor to help develop criteria for and to help review requests for proposals for new energy storage resources. The bill requires the Commission to conduct a technology demonstration program for long-duration energy storage resources and initiate a proceeding to determine if such technology is viable and that the targets in the bill are reasonably achievable, for which a final order shall be entered no later than March 1, 2031. Certain provisions of the bill are only effective upon such determination by the Commission. The bill requires the Department of Energy, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Fire Programs, to develop model ordinances suggested for use by localities in their regulation of energy storage projects by December 1, 2026. The bill directs the Commission to initiate a technical conference by September 1, 2026, to evaluate safety standards and practices for energy storage development. The bill also includes a provision authorizing the Commission to evaluate energy storage project proposals during annual petitions filed for the development of new renewable generation capacity. This bill is identical to SB 448.

• Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. Democratic · primary

1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104780D · lower
2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce · lower
3. Jan 22, 2026 Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 · lower
4. Feb 5, 2026 House subcommittee offered · lower
5. Feb 5, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute and referring to Appropriations (6-Y 2-N) · lower
6. Feb 9, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB895) · lower
7. Feb 10, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107210D-H1 · lower
8. Feb 10, 2026 Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute and referred to Appropriations (17-Y 5-N) · lower
9. Feb 11, 2026 Assigned HAPP sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources · lower
10. Feb 11, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 1-N) · lower
11. Feb 11, 2026 Reported from Appropriations (17-Y 5-N) · lower
12. Feb 13, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB895) · lower
13. Feb 13, 2026 Read first time · lower
14. Feb 16, 2026 Read second time · lower
15. Feb 16, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
16. Feb 16, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
17. Feb 17, 2026 Read third time and passed House (65-Y 32-N 0-A) · lower
18. Feb 18, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) · upper
19. Feb 18, 2026 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor · upper
20. Mar 2, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
21. Mar 2, 2026 Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (8-Y 5-N) · upper
22. Mar 3, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26108942D-S1 · upper
23. Mar 6, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N) · upper
24. Mar 9, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
25. Mar 9, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
26. Mar 9, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
27. Mar 10, 2026 Read third time · upper
28. Mar 10, 2026 Commerce and Labor Substitute agreed to · upper
29. Mar 10, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute · upper
30. Mar 10, 2026 Passed Senate with substitute (21-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
31. Mar 11, 2026 Senate substitute agreed to by House (68-Y 30-N 0-A) · lower
32. Mar 11, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB895) · lower
33. Mar 30, 2026 Enrolled · lower
34. Mar 30, 2026 Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB895ER) · lower
35. Mar 30, 2026 Signed by President · upper
36. Mar 31, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
37. Mar 31, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 · lower
38. Mar 31, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
39. Apr 2, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB895) · lower
40. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 694 (effective 7/1/2026) · executive

The published texts of this bill as it moves through the legislature. Each links to the official document on the state legislature site. Data from OpenStates.

• Enrolled · PDF
• Enrolled · HTML
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · PDF
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · HTML
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · PDF
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · HTML
• Labor and Commerce Substitute · PDF
• Labor and Commerce Substitute · HTML
• Labor and Commerce Substitute · PDF
• Labor and Commerce Substitute · HTML
• Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · PDF
• Subcommittee #3 Subcommittee Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML