Virginia legislature adopts bill on utility disconnection reporting by Del. Herring

The bill introduced by Del. Charniele L. Herring seeks to improve transparency by mandating utilities submit detailed monthly data on residential disconnections and arrearages after securing approval from both chambers, according to the Virginia State House.

The legislation cleared both chambers as of March 6, 2026, with a 98-0 vote in the House and a 40-0 vote in the Senate.

Introduced as HB828 on Jan. 14, 2026, during the regular session, the bill was described by the legislature as: “Electric utilities; disconnection reports, State Corporation Commission database, annual summary.”

The following provides an overview based on the official bill text, clarified to help interpret its contents.

Summary: The bill requires Virginia investor-owned electric utilities and cooperatives to file monthly reports to the State Corporation Commission on disconnections due to nonpayment and associated arrearages. Reports must detail customers served, disconnections by ZIP code, reconnection timelines, as well as arrearage amounts, participation in assistance programs, and number of customers with certified serious medical conditions, including those in arrears but not disconnected. The commission is tasked with posting this information in an online utility-specific database, and may set standardized rules for reporting. By Sept. 1, 2026, and every year after, a summary analyzing trends, geographic patterns, differences among utilities, and additional disconnection data must be provided to state officials.

The House saw 63 Democrats and 35 Republicans in support of the measure.

In the Senate, the bill was approved by 21 Democrats and 19 Republicans.

Del. Charniele L. Herring (Democrat-4th District) was the bill’s sole sponsor.

Herring earned a BA from George Mason University in 1993 and a JD from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law in 1997.

Herring was elected in 2024 as a Democrat to the Virginia State House, succeeding William Wampler III in the 4th House district.

Virginia’s legislative process opens with the introduction of a bill in either the House of Delegates or the Senate. The proposed legislation is assigned to committees for review and possible changes. If it advances, the bill reaches the full chamber for debate and voting in both bodies. Once both pass the legislation, it moves to the governor for a signature, veto, or may become law without signature. The General Assembly meets annually beginning the second Monday in January. Legislators submit hundreds of bills, though not all become law.

Details for this report were sourced from the Virginia State House. Original data is available here.