Virginia § 56-585.1:14: Phase II small modular reactor development-cost recovery

Virginia approved Chapter 789 on 17 April 2024. It allows a Phase II utility to seek recovery of development costs for one small modular reactor facility, with a 500-megawatt nameplate definition and a $1.40 residential cap. The act expires on 31 December 2029. It does not license or approve a reactor.

Category: Laws, rules and executive directives
Status: In effect
Instrument: statute · Va. Code § 56-585.1:14 (2024 Acts, c. 789; SB 454)
Issued by: Virginia General Assembly
Jurisdiction: Virginia
Affects: Utility cost recovery
Effective date: Not recorded
Expiry or completion: 2029-12-31 — Chapter 789, enactment clause 2, says the provisions of the act expire on 31 December 2029. The current code header repeats that date. The expiry has not occurred.
Operative text: Virginia 2024 Acts of Assembly, Chapter 789 (SB 454) (2024 Acts of Assembly, Chapter 789)
Last checked · next review: 2026-10-04 · 2027-04-15

Legal and geographic scope

Current Code of Virginia, effective until 31 December 2029. A Phase II utility may petition the State Corporation Commission to recover development costs for one small modular reactor facility. The Commission may approve or deny the petition. Costs incurred before 1 July 2024, and 20 percent of costs incurred after that date, are not eligible for accelerated recovery under this section. The annual revenue requirement may not raise a typical Virginia residential 1,000 kWh bill by more than $1.40. Cost recovery is not a construction permit or an operating license.

Not approved or still pending

No Commission rate-adjustment order was opened. The act preserves the Commission's authority to approve or deny a petition. The chapter does not state a separate day on which it took effect. A Virginia location does not make a tracked project eligible.

Dated lifecycle

17 Apr 2024 · actual · day · Signed — Chapter 789 states that it was approved on 17 April 2024. It lets a Phase II utility ask the State Corporation Commission to recover small modular reactor development costs. It does not approve a reactor. (Virginia 2024 Acts of Assembly, Chapter 789 (SB 454))

Definitions in this instrument

Small modular reactor (§ 56-585.1:14(A)): A nuclear reactor that produces nuclear power and has a nameplate capacity that does not exceed 500 megawatts of generating capacity per reactor.
Legal definition used by this instrument only; SMRMap's inclusion rule for SMRs is separate and unchanged.

Related instruments

Virginia § 56-585.1:15: Phase I small modular nuclear facility development-cost recovery (companion)

Projects or designs named by the source

None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.

Sources

Virginia 2024 Acts of Assembly, Chapter 789 (SB 454) (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-04)
Code of Virginia § 56-585.1:14 (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-04)