A bill put forward by State Sen. Jeremy S. McPike would enable electric cooperatives to create and manage virtual power plant programs, outlining requirements for their oversight and operation, the Virginia State Senate says.
The measure, filed as SB487 on Jan. 14, 2026, during the 2026 regular session, carries the formal description: “Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program.”
Below is an overview derived from the bill text, clarifying the main points included in its language.
The proposal gives electric cooperatives, starting Jan. 1, 2027, the authority to implement tariffed virtual power plant programs without pre-approval from the commission, pending later reviews of rates. A virtual power plant in this context means a coordinated system of small, carbon-free distributed energy resources delivering services to the electric grid. The legislation permits cooperatives to utilize aggregators, participate in related distributed energy programs, recover costs through rates, and offer incentives for home battery installations selected via competitive procurement. Additional requirements include review of federal funding resources, gathering input from stakeholders, providing incentives for enrollment and performance, targeting benefits to historically economically disadvantaged communities, establishing opt-out and disenrollment options, and developing a pay-for-performance tariff specifying eligible technology types and compensated grid services.
Sen. Jeremy S. McPike (Democrat-29th District) is the sole patron of this bill.
McPike has also introduced 20 other bills during this session.
A graduate of George Mason University, McPike earned his BA in 1997.
McPike, a Democrat, has served as representative for Virginia’s 29th Senate district since his 2016 election, following the tenure of Charles Colgan.
In Virginia, the law-making process starts with a bill introduction in the House of Delegates or the Senate. Bills move to one or more committees for review and possible amendment. If committees approve, the legislation reaches the floor for debate and votes in both chambers. Once both pass the measure, the governor can sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature. The Virginia General Assembly convenes in regular session on the second Monday in January each year, and only a portion of the hundreds of bills filed are eventually enacted.
| Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB487 | 01/14/2026 | Electric cooperatives; authorized to establish and implement a virtual power plant program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Barbara A. Favola, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Russet Perry, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB74 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; local zoning ordinance authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Christie New Craig | SB122 | 01/14/2026 | School boards; student diabetes care & management in schools, division wide plan required. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Russet Perry | SB138 | 01/14/2026 | PFAS monitoring; DEQ to require for industrial wastewater source, publicly owned treatment works. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB139 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for long-term capital gains from sale of principal residence. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB140 | 01/14/2026 | Fire Programs, Department of; development of mental health awareness training. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB148 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; subtraction for tax, military retirement benefits, uniformed services. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB149 | 01/14/2026 | State-facilitated IRA savings program; various changes to the program. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Bill DeSteph | SB164 | 01/14/2026 | Health insurance; ethics and fairness in carrier business practices, downcoded claims. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB165 | 01/14/2026 | Contracts; retainage bonds permitted in construction contracts, effective clause. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB166 | 01/14/2026 | Insurance; contingent deferred annuities, nonforfeiture benefits. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB170 | 01/14/2026 | Protection of employees; covenants not to compete, discharged employees. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB256 | 01/14/2026 | Appliance minimum energy and water conservation standards; requirement of manufacturers. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB321 | 01/14/2026 | Abandonment of highway; section of the secondary state highway system, local authority. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Jennifer D. Carroll Foy | SB324 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; additional public works contract requirements. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB326 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Public Procurement Act; cooperative procurement. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Kannan Srinivasan | SB371 | 01/14/2026 | Electric utilities; electric demand flexibility programs, high energy demand customers, report. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Angelia Williams Graves, Jennifer D. Carroll Foy, Kannan Srinivasan, and Saddam Azlan Salim | SB388 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; religious organizations and other nonprofit tax-exempt properties. |
| Jeremy S. McPike and Angelia Williams Graves | SB443 | 01/14/2026 | Siting of battery energy storage projects; commercial solar photovoltaic generation facilities. |
| Jeremy S. McPike, Adam P. Ebbin, Jennifer B. Boysko, Kannan Srinivasan, Saddam Azlan Salim, and Scott A. Surovell | SB446 | 01/14/2026 | Limited-duration licenses, driver privilege cards, and permits; validity periods for documents. |
| Jeremy S. McPike | SB591 | 01/14/2026 | Income tax, state; free tax filing program for individuals |
Information in this article was obtained from the Virginia State Senate. The source data can be found here.
