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Virginia

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Oct 30, 2026

By the Virginia Solar Editorial Team

Dominion's New RGGI Charge: What It Means for Your Bill and Your Solar Decision

Dominion's proposed RGGI charge starts in March 2027, but a new bill credit should offset most of it. Here's what that means for solar shoppers.

Illustration of a quiet Virginia street of cream and sage-green houses, one with solar panels on its roof, with power lines and transmission towers crossing green hills toward a power plant with two smokestacks and a cooling tower under a soft overcast sky.

Dominion's New RGGI Charge: What It Means for Your Bill and Your Solar Decision

The Short Version

Dominion Energy Virginia has asked the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to add a "Rider RGGI" charge to bills starting March 1, 2027 (Case No. PUR-2026-00085). Dominion estimates it would add $13.00 a month for a typical home using 1,000 kWh, or $10.36 under an optional plan that spreads some costs over two years.

But a 2026 state law also requires a matching "RGGI Credit" on residential bills. State energy officials expect that credit to almost totally offset the charge. The SCC has until February 5, 2027 to decide.

If you're shopping for solar, this is not a reason to rush, and it shouldn't be the reason a salesperson gives you.

What RGGI Is and Why It's Back

RGGI (the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative) is a multistate carbon market. Power plants must buy an "allowance" for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. Virginia was in RGGI from 2021 through 2023, left for 2024 and 2025, and rejoined on July 1, 2026.

Dominion is the state's largest buyer of allowances. In the September 2026 auction, the price was $37.65 per ton.

What Dominion Is Asking For

According to the SCC's July 7, 2026 order setting the case for hearing, Dominion is asking to recover $1,179,089,492. That covers:

Allowance costs from July 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, before the charge starts
Financing costs
Allowance costs for the rate year of March 1, 2027 through February 29, 2028

Dominion offered two options:

Standard: about $13.00/month on 1,000 kWh
Mitigation plan: spreads the pre-March costs over two years, about $10.36/month

At the October 28 hearing, Appalachian Voices argued the slower plan could add up to $17 million in financing costs. The amount is reset every year, so a new Rider RGGI figure will be set for March 2028 onward.

The RGGI Credit: Why Your Net Bill May Barely Move

A 2026 budget amendment directs 45% of Virginia's RGGI revenue back to Dominion's residential, small business, and church customers. It will appear as a line item on your bill labeled "RGGI Credit."

The SCC noted that Dominion's $13 estimate was calculated before this law existed. With the credit, it said the real increase "could reasonably be expected to be lower."

A few details are still open:

How the state will calculate each utility's share (Dominion testified the process isn't finalized)
Whether credits arrive monthly or quarterly. Dominion first proposed quarterly; the Attorney General's Consumer Counsel argued for monthly.

Large commercial and industrial customers get no credit. For them, the charge works out to about 1.3 cents per kWh, a 7%+ increase for most.

What This Means if You're Weighing Solar

Here's the honest read:

The direct bill impact for most homes should be small. If the credit works as intended, Rider RGGI alone isn't a big new cost for residential customers.
There may be indirect effects. Dominion's own witness said RGGI also raises the cost of power bought through the regional grid, which shows up in the fuel factor. How much is unknown. Dominion said it can't isolate that in its models.
Usage still matters. Dominion's estimate is stated per 1,000 kWh. The less grid electricity you buy, the less any usage-based charge affects you.
Don't let a headline drive your decision. Solar should make sense on its own numbers: your usage, your roof, your contract terms.

For the bigger picture on rising rates, see what Virginia homeowners should know about rising electricity costs.

Questions to Ask About Any Solar Quote

What utility rate increase does the savings estimate assume each year? Ask where that number comes from.
Is the estimate counting a "new $13 charge" without the RGGI Credit that offsets it?
For leases: how does the escalator compare with realistic rate changes? Our guide to how solar lease escalators actually work explains what to look for.
Is the system sized to your actual 12-month usage?

If two quotes look very different, here's why that happens.

Final Thoughts

Dominion's RGGI request is real, and the $13 figure will show up in headlines. But for most homeowners, the RGGI Credit is designed to cancel most of it. The SCC's decision is due by February 5, 2027.

The best protection is a quote built on honest rate assumptions. Have a solar quote and want a second opinion? We'll review it for free, with no pressure.

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