In March 2024, the Virginia General Assembly passed House Joint Resolution No. 30 and Senate Joint Resolution No. 47. As a result, this joint resolution 1) developed a stakeholder engagement process on performance-based regulation (PBR), and 2) directed the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to conduct a study, informed by the stakeholder process, on the potential implications of implementing a PBR structure for electric investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in the Commonwealth.

Prepared by the Great Plains Institute (GPI) and Current Energy Group (CEG), with technical support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), this study focuses on Virginia’s two largest investor-owned utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Company. The three-part study includes 1) a high-level overview of PBR and its potential benefits, 2) a legislative report on how the current regulatory framework for electric IOUs may or may not incentivize achievement of the Commonwealth’s priorities along with a list of recommended strategies for Virginia’s consideration, and 3) a technical report to help Virginia’s stakeholders and decision makers better understand whether PBR and other alternative regulatory tools could better align electric IOUs incentives with the Commonwealth’s energy and economic goals.

While SCC initiated and coordinated the undertaking of this study, the report reflects the independent findings and recommendations of GPI and CEG, informed by extensive stakeholder engagement and expert analysis.