Virginia Regulator Approves $650 Million Grid Transformation Plan for Dominion Energy

The Virginia State Corporations Commission on Jan. 7 approved the second phase of the Grid Transformation Plan proposed by Dominion Energy Inc. for the years 2022 and 2023. The approved phase II is focused on a set of projects aimed at accommodating the growing participation of distributed energy resources promoted by recent policy developments.

Virginia’s Clean Economy Act enacted in 2020 requires the state to achieve carbon-free electricity by 2050. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 2222, also issued in 2020, directed regional grid operators to revise their tariffs to allow distributed energy resource aggregators to participate in the wholesale energy markets. This phase of the Dominion’s plan is intended to provide a variety of benefits including: more grid flexibility and resilience, more innovation and participants within the electric power industry.

In phase II, the commission approved several projects with some conditions that imply cost limits. The commission approved the advanced metering infrastructure project – which was previously denied – after considering several factors including Dominion’s timeline for system-wide implementation of time-varying rates and the availability of an experimental time-of-use rate that requires advanced metering. 

The regulatory agency also indicated that the service company should continue to carry out cost-benefit evaluations to achieve an adequate incorporation of distributed energy resources and determine the anticipated impacts on reliability.

The total proposed investment associated with the Phase II plan is over $650 million in capital and more than $100 million in operations and maintenance investment. The proposed projects and corresponding costs are described below:

• Advanced Metering Infrastructure

This measure consists of the incorporation of the latest generation technology necessary for remote operations, such as online measurement of electricity consumption, sending commands, inquiries, updates, among others. Associated costs: $198.3 million.

• Customer Information Platform (CIP)

Dominion Energy’s proposal includes continued deployment of CIP, and also contemplates the redesign of the invoices in order to promote better understanding and management of the client. Associated costs: $203.9 million.

• Grid Infrastructure

Project types include incorporation of the necessary equipment to improve the reliability of the main feeders, as well as corridor improvements and mitigating voltage islands. Associated costs: $27.7 million. 

• Grid Technologies

In order to modernize the grid, this section of projects mainly consists of the installations of equipment and systems such as: smart equipment, (FLISR) Fault Location, Isolation and Service Restoration Systems; (DERM) Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems; (EAMS) Enterprise Asset Management System, among other necessary technologies. Associated costs: $194.42 million.

• Telecommunications

This proposal consists of a comprehensive telecommunications strategy requiring multiple components designed and deployed as an integrated solution to meet the needs of a transformed distribution grid. Associated costs: $102 million.

• Cyber and physical security

The purpose of executing cybersecurity and physical security projects is to protect the distribution grid against attacks that could put the energy sector, the company and its customers at risk. Associated costs: $9.3 million and $37.5 million respectively.

• Customer education

These projects are intended to complement the company’s general efforts to educate its customers on topics ranging from available rate programs to general energy education. Associated costs: $3 million.