SB777 • 2026

Electric utilities and licensed suppliers of electricity; regional transmission entities.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 56-579.1, relating to electric utilities and licensed suppliers of electricity; regional transmission entities; annual report.

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Rouse
Last action: 2026-04-13
Official status: Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text does not specify a particular length or format for the public interest explanation beyond it being between 20 and 100 words.

Electric Utilities and Licensed Suppliers Annual Report

This act requires certain electric utilities and licensed suppliers that join or establish PJM Interconnection to submit an annual report to the State Corporation Commission by February 1st.

What This Bill Does

Requires investor-owned electric utilities or licensed suppliers joining or establishing PJM Interconnection to send a yearly report by February 1 of each year.
The report must include all recorded votes cast by the utility, its affiliates, and explanations on how these votes benefit the public interest.

Who It Names or Affects

Investor-owned electric utilities that join or establish PJM Interconnection
Licensed suppliers joining or establishing PJM Interconnection

Terms To Know

Affiliate: A company related to the utility or licensed supplier through ownership or control.
Regional transmission entity: An organization that manages the movement of electricity across a region, in this case PJM Interconnection.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not apply to municipal utilities or certain electric cooperatives.
The effective date is not specified in the provided information.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SB777AC

2026-03-13 • Conference

Conference Report

Plain English: The amendment recommends rejecting a previous version of Senate Bill No. 777 and accepting a new substitute amendment to address disagreements.

Rejects the previously proposed House Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26108755D).
Accepts a new Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26109756D) to resolve differences.

The official amendment text does not provide details about the content of the new substitute amendment, making it unclear what specific changes are being made.
Further information is needed to understand the concrete changes proposed by Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute (26109756D).

SB777S2

2026-03-13 • Conference

Conference Report Substitute

Plain English: The amendment requires investor-owned electric utilities and licensed suppliers to report all recorded votes cast by them or their affiliates at meetings of the regional transmission entity PJM Interconnection, LLC, to the Commission annually.

Requires investor-owned electric utilities and licensed suppliers to submit an annual report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission detailing all recorded votes made by them or their affiliates during the previous calendar year.
Specifies that each utility must provide a brief explanation of how each vote is in the public interest, with a word count limit between 20 and 100 words.
Allows the Commission to request additional information related to these votes as part of any applicable proceeding.

The amendment does not apply to electric utilities owned or operated by municipalities or entities organized under Chapter 9.1, nor their affiliates and subsidiaries.

Bill History

2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 558 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Approved by Governor-Chapter 558 (effective 7/1/2026)
2026-04-13 Governor
Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0558)
2026-04-06 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB777)
2026-03-31 Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-31 House
Signed by Speaker
2026-03-31 Senate
Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026
2026-03-31 Governor
Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
2026-03-30 Senate
Signed by President
2026-03-30 Senate
Enrolled
2026-03-30 Senate
Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB777ER)
2026-03-24 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB777)
2026-03-14 House
Conference report agreed to by House (93-Y 2-N 0-A)
2026-03-13 Conference
Conference Report released
2026-03-13 Senate
Conference report agreed to by Senate (24-Y 15-N 0-A)
2026-03-11 House
Conferees appointed by House
2026-03-11 House
House Conferees: Laufer, Sullivan, Webert
2026-03-10 Senate
Senate Conferees: Rouse, Bagby, Stanley
2026-03-10 Senate
Conferees appointed by Senate
2026-03-10 Senate
Senate acceded to request Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-09 House
House insisted on substitute
2026-03-09 House
House requested conference committee
2026-03-06 Senate
House substitute rejected by Senate (0-Y 40-N 0-A)
2026-03-04 House
Read third time
2026-03-04 House
committee substitute agreed to
2026-03-04 House
Engrossed by House - committee substitute
2026-03-04 House
Passed House with substitute Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-04 House
Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House
2026-03-04 House
Passed House with substitute Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-03-03 House
Read third time
2026-03-03 House
Passed by temporarily
2026-03-03 House
Passed by for the day
2026-03-02 House
Read second time
2026-02-27 Labor and Commerce
Committee substitute printed 26108755D-H1
2026-02-26 Labor and Commerce
Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (21-Y 0-N)
2026-02-24 House
Placed on Calendar
2026-02-24 House
Read first time
2026-02-24 Labor and Commerce
Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
2026-02-16 Commerce and Labor
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB777)
2026-02-13 Senate
Read third time and passed Senate (22-Y 16-N 0-A)
2026-02-12 Senate
Read second time
2026-02-12 Senate
Read second time
2026-02-12 Senate
Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote)
2026-02-12 Commerce and Labor
Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote)
2026-02-12 Senate
Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)
2026-02-11 Senate
Rules suspended
2026-02-11 Senate
Passed by for the day
2026-02-11 Senate
Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)
2026-02-11 Senate
Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)
2026-02-10 Commerce and Labor
Committee substitute printed 26106558D-S1
2026-02-09 Commerce and Labor
Reported from Commerce and Labor with substitute (9-Y 6-N)
2026-02-09 Senate
Senate committee offered
2026-02-05 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from State Corporation Commission (SB777)
2026-01-22 Senate
Presented and ordered printed 26104958D
2026-01-22 Commerce and Labor
Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor

Official Summary Text

Electric utilities and licensed suppliers of electricity; regional transmission entity; annual report.
Requires each investor-owned utility or licensed supplier that joins or establishes the regional transmission entity (PJM Interconnection, LLC) to submit an annual report to the State Corporation Commission by February 1 of each year. Such report shall include (i) all recorded votes cast by the utility or licensed supplier at a meeting during the immediately preceding calendar year, (ii) all votes cast by an affiliate of the utility or licensed supplier at a meeting during the immediately preceding calendar year, and (iii) a brief description explaining how each recorded vote is in the public interest. The provisions of the bill do not apply to municipal utilities or certain electric cooperatives. This bill is identical to HB 84.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
56-579.1
, relating to electric utilities and licensed suppliers of electricity; regional transmission entities; annual report.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
56-579.1
as follows:
§
56-579.1
. Electric utilities and licensed suppliers of electricity; regional transmission entities; annual report.
A. As used in this section:
"Affiliate" means the same as that term is defined in §
56-576
.
"Licensed supplier" means any voting member of the regional transmission entity that has generation or transmission facilities in the Commonwealth and sells electricity to purchasers in the Commonwealth.
"Meeting" means any meeting of the regional transmission entity, its committees, user groups, task forces, or any other part of the regional transmission entity where votes are taken.
"Recorded vote" means any final or non-final vote that is tabulated, individually or as part of a sector, for any purpose at a meeting, regardless of whether the vote represents a final position of the entity casting such vote or the decision-making authority of those voting.
"Regional transmission entity" means PJM Interconnection, LLC.
B. Each investor-owned electric utility or licensed supplier that joins or establishes the regional transmission entity shall submit to the Commission no later than February 1 of each year a report of any recorded vote cast by the utility, the licensed supplier, or any affiliate of the utility or licensed supplier at any meeting of the regional transmission entity during the immediately preceding calendar year.
C. Such report shall include:
1. All recorded votes cast by the utility or licensed supplier during the immediately preceding calendar year, regardless of whether the vote is otherwise disclosed;
2. All recorded votes cast by an affiliate of the utility or licensed supplier during the immediately preceding calendar year if the utility or licensed supplier did not vote on the matter, regardless of whether the vote is otherwise disclosed; and
3. A brief description explaining how each recorded vote cast by the utility or licensed supplier, or its affiliate, as appropriate, is in the public interest. Each such description shall be no less than 20 and no more than 100 words in length.
D. The Commission may, as part of any applicable proceeding, request information related to recorded votes cast by the utility or a licensed supplier at any meeting of a regional transmission entity.
E. No provision of this section shall apply to (i) an electric utility owned or operated by a municipality or (ii) any entity organized under Chapter 9.1 (§
56-231.15
et seq.) or any affiliate or subsidiary of any such entity.