Municipal aggregation has been allowed in Virginia since 1999, when it was introduced in the Electric Utility Restructuring Act (SB 1269). The Act added to the Code of Virginia in Title 56 section 56-589 Municipal and state aggregation, which was amended in several sessions throughout the years as follows:

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1999 Session; Chapter 441. Introduces §56-589 Municipal and State Aggregation

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“Counties, cities and towns (hereafter “municipalities”) and other political subdivisions of the Commonwealth may, at their election and upon authorization by majority votes of their governing bodies, aggregate electrical energy and demand requirements for the purpose of negotiating the purchase of electrical energy requirements from any licensed supplier within this Commonwealth.”

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• Residential, commercial and industrial retail customers may on a voluntary, opt-in basis select the municipality or other political subdivision as its aggregator, which may not earn a profit but must recover the actual costs incurred in such aggregation.

• One or more municipalities may aggregate the consumption of electric energy of their governmental buildings, facilities and any other governmental operations.

 

2000 Session; Chapter 991. §56-588 – Licensing of Aggregators

The aggregation of the governmental buildings, facilities and any other governmental operations of one or more municipalities does not require a license from the State Corporation Commission.

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2003 Session; Chapter 795. §56-577 – Schedule for transition to retail competition; Commission authority; exemptions; pilot programs

Provides for the State Corporation Commission to develop and implement municipal aggregation pilot programs in an opt-in, opt-out or any other type of municipal aggregation.

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2004 Session; Chapter 827. 

Introduces the possibility for an opt-out basis, eliminates the requirement that customers must opt in to select such aggregation, and eliminates the requirement that the municipality or other political subdivision may not earn a profit from the aggregation.

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2007 Session; Chapter 888, Chapter 933.

The aggregation is subject to the provisions of subdivision A3 of §56-577.

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Provides that one or more municipalities can aggregate the consumption of electric energy of their governmental buildings, facilities and any other governmental operations “for the purpose of negotiating rates and terms, and conditions of service from the electric utility certificated by the Commission to serve the territory in which such buildings, facilities and operations are located,” and “that no such electric energy load shall be aggregated for this purpose unless all such buildings, facilities and operations to be aggregated are served by the same electric utility.”