Title 30. General Assembly
Subtitle .
Chapter 31. Commission on Electric Utility Regulation
Chapter 31. Commission on Electric Utility Regulation.
§ 30-201. (Expires July 1, 2029) Commission on Electric Utility Restructuring continued as Commission on Electric Utility Regulation; purpose.The Commission on Electric Utility Restructuring established pursuant to Chapter 885 of the Acts of Assembly of 2003, is continued, effective July 1, 2008, as the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation (the Commission) within the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to monitor the State Corporation Commission’s implementation of the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act (§ 56-576 et seq.).
The Commission shall have a total membership of 14 members that shall consist of 10 legislative members, three nonlegislative citizen members, and one ex officio member. Members shall be appointed as follows: four members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules that consist of three members from the majority party and one member from the minority party or an equal number from each in the event the chamber is evenly divided; six members of the House of Delegates to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; one nonlegislative citizen member with expertise in economic development and ratepayer advocacy to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; one nonlegislative citizen member with expertise in energy affordability and ratepayer advocacy to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and one nonlegislative citizen member with expertise in public utility regulation and ratepayer advocacy to be appointed by the Governor. The Attorney General or his designee shall serve ex officio. Any such designee shall be an attorney employed within the Department of Law's Division of Consumer Counsel. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Each member of the Commission shall annually complete an orientation on electric utility regulation provided by the State Corporation Commission.
Legislative members of the Commission and the ex officio member shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. All members may be reappointed. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be made for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
The Commission shall annually elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly. The chairman of the Commission shall be authorized to designate one or more members of the Commission to observe and participate in the discussions of any work group convened by the State Corporation Commission in furtherance of its duties under the Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act (§ 56-576 et seq.) and this chapter. Members participating in such discussions shall be entitled to compensation and reimbursement provided in § 30-204, if approved by the Joint Rules Committee or its Budget Oversight Subcommittee.
2003, c. 885; 2004, c. 1000; 2008, c. 883; 2023, cc. 753, 793.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The Commission shall meet at least twice per year; meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the Senate members or a majority of the House members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission.
Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12 and shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission and the executive director of the Commission, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth for the purpose of attending meetings. However, all such compensation and expenses shall be paid from existing appropriations to the Commission or, if unfunded, shall be approved by the Joint Rules Committee.
The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
1. Monitor the work of the State Corporation Commission in implementing Chapter 23 (§ 56-576 et seq.) of Title 56. The Commission shall receive an annual report from the State Corporation Commission by November 1 regarding such implementation and shall receive such other reports as the Commission may be required to make, including reviews, analyses, and impact on consumers of electric utility regulation in other states;
2. Examine generation, transmission and distribution systems reliability concerns;
3. Establish one or more subcommittees, composed of its membership, persons with expertise in the matters under consideration by the Commission, or both, to meet at the direction of the chairman of the Commission, for any purpose within the scope of the duties prescribed to the Commission by this section, provided that such persons who are not members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to be reimbursed from funds appropriated or otherwise available to the Commission for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties;
4. Monitor applications by the Commonwealth for grants and awards for energy projects from the federal government;
5. Consider legislation referred to it during any session of the General Assembly or other requests by members of the General Assembly;
6. Conduct studies and gather information and data in order to accomplish its purposes set forth in § 30-201 and in connection with the faithful execution of the laws of the Commonwealth;
7. Issue ratepayer impact statements pursuant to § 30-205.1; and
8. Report annually to the General Assembly and the Governor with such recommendations as may be appropriate for legislative and administrative consideration in order to maintain reliable service in the Commonwealth while preserving the Commonwealth's position as a low-cost electricity market.
2003, c. 885; 2006, c. 812; 2008, c. 883; 2023, cc. 753, 793.
A. As used in this section:
"Ratepayer" means a residential, commercial, or industrial customer who is billed for the consumption of electricity by an electric utility in the Commonwealth.
"Ratepayer impact statement" means a statement prepared using data or other relevant information to estimate the potential impact on ratepayers' electric bills of proposed legislation related to electric utilities.
B. Upon the request by the Chairman for the House Committee on Labor and Commerce or the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, the Commission shall prepare a ratepayer impact statement for any proposed legislation related to electric utility regulation specified by such Chairman. Each such Chairman may request up to five ratepayer impact statements in any given regular or special session of the General Assembly. Additionally, upon the request of any other member of the General Assembly, the Commission, at the Commission's discretion, may prepare a ratepayer impact statement for any proposed legislation related to electric utility regulation specified by such member.
C. The Commission shall provide any such ratepayer impact statement to the requesting Chairman or member, the patron of the legislation, and the members of any committee considering the legislation.
D. Upon request of the Commission, the State Corporation Commission, the Office of the Attorney General, and all agencies of the Commonwealth shall expeditiously provide the Commission with assistance in the preparation of any ratepayer impact statement including providing the Commission with any necessary data or other relevant information.
E. The Commission shall ensure that any ratepayer impact statement provides a neutral and accurate analysis of the potential impact on ratepayers' electric bills of the proposed legislation. Any ratepayer impact statement shall include the methodology used by the Commission to prepare such ratepayer impact statement.
The Commission may appoint, employ, and remove an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary, subject to funding in the appropriation act, and shall determine the duties and fix the salaries or compensation of such executive director and other persons, within the amounts appropriated for such purpose. The Commission may also employ experts who have knowledge of the issues before it. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request, subject to funding in the appropriation act.
The chairman of the Commission shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly’s website.
Repealed by Acts 2008, c. 883, cl. 2.
This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2029.
2003, c. 885; 2008, c. 883; 2010, c. 388; 2012, Sp. Sess. I, c. 1; 2015, c. 628; 2018, c. 633; 2020, c. 627; 2022, c. 177; 2023, cc. 753, 793.
