SCC Misses Opportunity to Deliver the Virtual Power Plant Program Virginia Envisioned

The program as approved does not properly compensate participants or hit the statutory goals outlined by the Community Energy Act.  

RICHMOND, VA – Today, the Virginia State Corporation Commission issued its final order approving Dominion Energy’s virtual power plant pilot. While the Commission’s order allows Dominion to move forward with implementing a VPP program under the Community Energy Act, it leaves critical shortcomings unresolved that will limit customer participation and undermine market development. However, the SCC did concede that the battery storage pilot should reach 15 MWs by July 1, 2028, as well as grant flexibility to the VPP program budget to maximize program success.

Advanced Energy United participated as a party and submitted expert testimony demonstrating that Dominion significantly undervalued the grid services provided by distributed energy resources, including battery storage, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats. United also urged the Commission to remove unnecessary barriers to participation, adopt more flexible performance-based compensation, and ensure the pilot better aligns with the scale envisioned by the General Assembly.

“Virginia had an opportunity to establish one of the nation’s leading virtual power plant programs, but this order falls short of that vision,” said Bevan Flansburg, Regulatory Director at Advanced Energy United. “The Community Energy Act recognized that customer-owned energy resources can strengthen reliability and lower costs. A successful program depends on compensating those resources based on the value they provide and making participation straightforward for customers. Unfortunately, this decision leaves some of those barriers in place that will make the program less effective than it could be.”

Advanced Energy United remains committed to working with regulators, Dominion Energy, and other stakeholders to strengthen the program as it evolves.