SB 448 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 HB 895.

• Lamont Bagby Democratic · primary

1. Jan 13, 2026 Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105446D · upper
2. Jan 13, 2026 Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor · upper
3. Feb 9, 2026 Senate committee offered · upper
4. Feb 9, 2026 Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 6-N) · upper
5. Feb 10, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107447D-S1 · upper
6. Feb 10, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB448) · upper
7. Feb 11, 2026 Reported from Finance and Appropriations with substitute (12-Y 3-N) · upper
8. Feb 12, 2026 Rules suspended · upper
9. Feb 12, 2026 Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) · upper
10. Feb 12, 2026 Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) · upper
11. Feb 13, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26107847D-S2 · upper
12. Feb 13, 2026 Read second time · upper
13. Feb 13, 2026 Committee substitute rejected (Voice Vote) · upper
14. Feb 13, 2026 Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) · upper
15. Feb 13, 2026 Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) · upper
16. Feb 16, 2026 Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 17-N 0-A) · upper
17. Feb 18, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB448) · upper
18. Feb 19, 2026 Placed on Calendar · lower
19. Feb 19, 2026 Read first time · lower
20. Feb 19, 2026 Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce · lower
21. Feb 27, 2026 Assigned HCL sub: Subcommittee #3 · lower
22. Mar 3, 2026 House subcommittee offered · lower
23. Mar 3, 2026 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (8-Y 1-N) · lower
24. Mar 5, 2026 Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (15-Y 6-N) · lower
25. Mar 5, 2026 Committee substitute printed 26109068D-H1 · lower
26. Mar 9, 2026 Read second time · lower
27. Mar 10, 2026 Passed by for the day · lower
28. Mar 10, 2026 Floor offered Delegate Wilt Amendment · lower
29. Mar 11, 2026 Read third time · lower
30. Mar 11, 2026 committee substitute agreed to · lower
31. Mar 11, 2026 Delegate Wilt Floor amendment passed by (64-Y 35-N 0-A) · lower
32. Mar 11, 2026 Engrossed by House - committee substitute · lower
33. Mar 11, 2026 Passed House with substitute (66-Y 33-N 0-A) · lower
34. Mar 11, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB448) · upper
35. Mar 12, 2026 House substitute agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) · upper
36. Mar 30, 2026 Enrolled · upper
37. Mar 30, 2026 Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB448ER) · upper
38. Mar 30, 2026 Signed by President · upper
39. Mar 31, 2026 Signed by Speaker · lower
40. Mar 31, 2026 Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 · upper
41. Mar 31, 2026 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 · executive
42. Apr 2, 2026 Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB448) · upper
43. Apr 13, 2026 Approved by Governor-Chapter 695 (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
• Delegate Wilt Amendment · 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
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · PDF
• Finance and Appropriations Substitute · HTML
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · PDF
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · HTML
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · PDF
• Commerce and Labor Substitute · HTML
• Introduced · PDF
• Introduced · HTML