2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
VIRGINIA ACTS OF ASSEMBLY -- CHAPTER
An Act to direct the Department of Energy to evaluate and assess the benefits and impacts of and best practices and implementation recommendations for demand response programs; report.
[S 43]
Approved
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. That the Department of Energy, in consultation with the State Corporation Commission, shall evaluate and assess the benefits and impacts of and best practices and implementation recommendations for demand response programs in the Commonwealth. Such evaluation and assessment shall include a review of (i) existing demand response programs and networks in the Commonwealth; (ii) current and prospective participation rates in demand response programs; and (iii) potential requirements for demand response programs to (a) meet the minimum reliability and resource adequacy standards set by the regional transmission entity of which an electric utility is a member, (b) reduce customers' energy consumption during an electric distribution grid emergency event or as otherwise necessary, (c) not increase local air pollution through the use of fossil fuels generators, and (d) be cost effective. The Department of Energy shall submit a report of such evaluation and assessment to the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor and the House Committee on Labor and Commerce no later than November 1, 2026.