Virginia Lawmakers Pass Competing Proposals to Encourage Small Modular Reactor Development

As Virginia’s General Assembly session draws to a close, lawmakers are still weighing whether Dominion and Appalachian Power customers should be on the hook for early development costs for small modular nuclear reactors, a nascent technology that has yet to be put into commercial operation in the United States.

One measure from Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Washington, that would let Appalachian Power Company recover such costs from customers has passed both chambers and is awaiting review by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Virginia House, Senate OK bills to advance development of small modular nuclear reactors

A different proposal from Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Fairfax, was amended by the House Wednesday to apply only to Dominion Energy, cap the amount the utility could recoup from customers, and set an expiration date for the utility to collect such costs.

The two bills are some of the more closely watched pieces of energy legislation this session. If approved, they would let a utility petition its regulators, the State Corporation Commission, to add a fee onto customers’ bills to recover certain pre-construction costs for a small modular reactor.

Youngkin had championed the technology since he released his four-year energy plan in 2022, when he called for the deployment of an SMR by the end of the decade.

Supporters see SMRs as a valuable addition to an electric grid that is increasingly moving toward renewables and a more cost-effective alternative to traditional nuclear plants. However, some environmental and ratepayer groups have raised concerns about utility customers covering development costs for a technology that remains unproven on a commercial level.

Amendments to Marsden’s bill Wednesday would limit any bill increases for early SMR development to $1.75 per month for a typical residential customer. The option for such cost recovery would also expire on Dec. 31, 2029.

“I’ve gotten people who support and don’t support on both sides,” said Mundon King in an interview. “What I do know is nuclear is something we need to be exploring and encouraging business to explore, and make sure our focus is that the exploration is not draining people’s bank accounts.”

Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, who has long been a vocal ratepayer advocate in the General Assembly, made several failed attempts to halt the legislation’s progress Wednesday.

“As usual, we have the largest energy bill in the session here in the final hours of the session. We have a moving target that many of us have not been able to see,” Ware said in a floor speech. “You’ll note that the shareholders are not mentioned, this is the ratepayers that will pick up this tab. There is no guarantee that electricity will be produced.”

Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, argued that states like Tennessee and North Carolina are also pushing for SMRs and that any proposals will have to be approved by the State Corporation Commission.

“Folks, this is the only way we can get to purely clean energy if we have SMRs,” Kilgore said.

Del. Mark Sickles, D-Fairfax, voiced a similar sentiment.

“I just think that nuclear’s got to be part of the global warming challenge. I don’t see how we get there without doing more nuclear,” he said.

The amendments to Marsden’s bill must now be approved by the Senate to send the legislation to Youngkin for his review. If the amendments aren’t accepted, the two versions of the bill could be sent to a conference committee, a small collection of legislators who meet in private to hash out the differences and produce a solution both chambers will approve.

by Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury

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