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SENATE BILL NO. 619
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the House Committee on Labor and Commerce
on ________________)
(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Srinivasan)
A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
56-580.1
, relating to electric utilities; certificate of operation for high-load facilities.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
56-580.1
as follows:
§
56
-
580.
1.
Certificate of operation
required
for
new
high
-
load facilities
.
A. As used in this section, "high
-
load facility" means
any faci
lity, or a combination of facilities that in the Commission's discretion effectively operate together as one facility, with a
contracted or measured
electric demand
of
90
megawatts
or greater
that (i)
was not in operation prior to
January 1, 2027
,
and
(ii)
has received approval from the local
ity in which it seeks to operate
.
B. No person shall operate a high
-
load facility without first having obtained a certificate of operation from the Commission
pursuant to this section, subject to
compliance
with applicable notice and hearing requirements.
C. The Commission shall issue a certificate of operation for a high
-
load facility upon a finding that such facility (i) will have no material adverse effect upon the rates paid by
other electric service
customers in the Commonwealth, taking into account any likely generation, transm
ission, or distribution needs attributable to the operation of the high
-
load facility; (ii) will have no material adverse effect upon
the
reliability of electric service; (iii) will have no material adverse effect upon the incumbent electric utility's ability to comply with applicable energy and environmental laws and regulations, including any
obligation to retire electric generating units under subdivision B
2
of §
56-585.5
; and (
i
v) is not otherwise contrary to the public interest.
D. In review
ing
a petition for a certificate to operate a high
-
load facility, the Commission shall give consideration to the effect of the facility and any associated facilities on the environment and public health and shall establish such conditions as may be desirable or necessary to minimize adverse environmental and
public health impacts. In its review, the Commission shall consider (i) whether adequate notice
was
provided to the incumbent electric utility
or cooperative
serving the area where the high
-
load facility would be located; (ii) whether the applicant has provided adequate information to the
locality,
the
public
,
and interested stakeholders regarding the high
-
load facility's energy use
and
its impacts on the electric g
rid, the environment and public health, and natural resources; (iii) whether
, after consideration of all generation resources located in the Commonwealth and in the
service territory of the
regional transmission entity and the ability to construct or procure additional generation resources to serve the increment
al electric load,
there is sufficient
electric
infrastructure to support the
operation of the high
-
load facility; (iv) the cumulative
effect of any and all other previously approved certificates to operate on the reliability
of electric service, public health, and the environment;
(v) the high
-
load facility's
expected
contribution
s
to economic
and workforce
development
, tax revenue, and community benefits
in the Commonwealth; and (vi) whether
the costs of electric service
attributable to
the
high
-
load facility would
be unreasonably subsidized by other electric service customers
.
E. The operation of a high
-
load facility shall be presumed to have no material adverse effect upon the incumbent electric utility's
or c
ooperative's
ability to comply with applicable energy and environmental laws and regulations, including any obligation to retire electric generating units under subdivision B
2
of §
56-585.5
and to be not otherwise contrary to the public interest, if the
petition for a
certificate to operate a
high
-
load facility
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commission that the
applicant for such certificate
has
taken actions that are reasonably designed to offset its contribution to the incumbent electric utility's
or cooperative's
system peak demand
, including by
(i)
securing
contracts with
sufficient
energy storage
capacity
or zero-carbon electric
generation
capac
ity
within the
Commonwealth
or (ii)
planning or implementing measurable and verifiable
energy efficiency, demand response, load shedding, or load reassignment measures.
2. That the State Corporation Commission may issue rules and guidance as necessary to implement the provisions of this act.