Dominion Energy Virginia
Dominion Energy Net Metering
Dominion credits the solar you send to the grid kilowatt-hour for kilowatt-hour against the power you buy, netted over a 12-month period. The State Corporation Commission kept that structure in its April 30, 2026 order. The new NEM 2.0 terms apply to interconnection applications Dominion approves on and after May 1, 2027.
Reviewed 2026-09-24
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Answer first
The short answer
Dominion net metering is still one-to-one energy netting over an annual net metering period. The SCC's final order in case PUR-2025-00079 rejected Dominion's request to move to real-time netting with dollar-based export credits. Under the revised tariff Dominion filed on July 30, 2026, applications approved before May 1, 2027 stay on the legacy program. Applications approved on and after May 1, 2027 go on NEM 2.0, which keeps kilowatt-hour netting and adds a small monthly charge and a set rate for year-end excess.
- NEM 2.0: a one-dollar monthly program administrative charge, no application fee, and year-end excess paid at 5.829 cents per kWh.
- Adding panels or a battery to a legacy system through a new notification moves the account to NEM 2.0 once those terms take effect.
- Size the array to the bill: Dominion allows up to 150 percent of expected annual use, and year-end excess earns far less than the retail rate.
- As of September 24, 2026, Dominion's own net metering web page does not yet describe NEM 2.0. The terms here come from the SCC orders and Dominion's filed tariff.
How Dominion net metering works today
Your bidirectional meter records what you draw from the grid and what your array sends back. When you export more than you use in a billing month, the extra becomes a kilowatt-hour credit that carries forward to months when you use more than you make. That netting runs over a 12-month net metering period that starts with the first meter reading after your system is interconnected.
In a month when your credits cover your usage, you still pay the charges that do not depend on usage, and any standby charge that applies. Dominion's page says the standby charge applies to residential systems larger than 20 kW AC. At the end of the 12-month period, excess generation under the legacy program earns nothing unless you sign a power purchase agreement with Dominion.
| Term | Legacy (approved before May 1, 2027) | NEM 2.0 (approved on and after May 1, 2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Netting | Kilowatt-hours over the 12-month period | Kilowatt-hours over the 12-month period, measured in 30-minute intervals |
| Monthly program charge | None | One dollar per billing month |
| Application fee | None | None; the SCC denied it |
| Year-end excess | Paid only under a power purchase agreement you request | Automatic power purchase agreement at 5.829 cents per kWh |
| Certificates (SRECs) | Owned by the customer | Owned by the customer |
Sources: SCC Final Order (April 30, 2026) and Order on Clarification (May 20, 2026), Case PUR-2025-00079; Dominion revised Terms and Conditions XXV filed July 30, 2026.
What the SCC decided in 2026
Dominion asked the Commission to replace annual energy netting with real-time netting and a dollar-based export credit, to add an application fee, and to count customer exports toward its own renewable obligation. The Commission's April 30, 2026 final order declined to reconfigure the program that way. It approved a 30-minute measurement interval but kept credits in kilowatt-hours, approved a one-dollar monthly administrative charge, denied the application fee, kept the six percent aggregate cap, and recognized that Dominion does not own the certificates customer arrays create.
On May 20, 2026, the Commission clarified the order: it maintained energy-based accounting over the net metering period, set the export credit rate at 5.829 cents per kWh, and said that for a customer who is a net importer over the year, the new tariff works about the same financially as the old one. The biggest change is what the year-end excess is worth.
Who keeps the legacy terms
The statute says nothing in the final order affects customers who interconnect before its effective date. Dominion's revised tariff draws the line at the approval date of the interconnection application: approved before May 1, 2027 is legacy, approved on and after that date is NEM 2.0. Existing customers can switch to NEM 2.0 by choice, and once they do they cannot switch back. Low-income customers can choose whichever tariff is more favorable.
Two events move a legacy account onto NEM 2.0 under the filed tariff: submitting a new notification form to add capacity to an existing system, including adding battery storage, and a new owner taking over an existing system. If you plan to add panels or a battery, the timing of that notification matters.
Sizing limits and the interconnection steps
Virginia law caps a residential net metering system in Dominion territory at 25 kW, and systems installed since July 1, 2020 cannot be sized to produce more than 150 percent of the expected annual consumption from the previous 12 months of billing history. Because year-end excess earns the lower export rate, the best-value array is sized to your usage, not to the cap.
Dominion's process has four steps: the Net Metering Interconnection Notification, a contingent approval, certification of the system by a licensed Virginia electrician, and a permission to operate email after the metering and billing work is complete. Dominion also requires systems and inverters certified to UL 1741 and IEEE 1547. We are licensed Virginia electricians, so the certification step is ours, not a subcontractor's.
Straight answers
Questions
- Did Dominion end net metering in Virginia?
- No. The SCC's April 30, 2026 order kept kilowatt-hour netting over a 12-month period and rejected the move to dollar-based export credits.
- When does Dominion NEM 2.0 start?
- Under the revised tariff Dominion filed on July 30, 2026, NEM 2.0 applies to interconnection applications approved on and after May 1, 2027. Applications approved before then stay on the legacy program.
- What does NEM 2.0 change?
- A one-dollar monthly program administrative charge and an automatic power purchase agreement that pays 5.829 cents per kWh for net excess at the end of the 12-month period. Netting stays in kilowatt-hours.
- Will adding a battery change my net metering?
- Under the filed tariff, a new notification to add capacity, including battery storage, moves a legacy account to NEM 2.0 once those terms apply. Plan the timing with your installer.
- Why doesn't Dominion's website mention NEM 2.0?
- As of September 24, 2026, Dominion's net metering page still describes the current program. The NEM 2.0 terms are in the SCC orders and Dominion's filed tariff, linked below.
Sources
- Virginia State Corporation Commission, Case PUR-2025-00079, Final Order (April 30, 2026)
- Virginia State Corporation Commission, Case PUR-2025-00079, Order on Clarification (May 20, 2026)
- Dominion Energy Virginia, revised Terms and Conditions XXV, Net Metering (filed July 30, 2026)
- Dominion Energy Virginia, Net Metering
- Code of Virginia 56-594, Net energy metering provisions
Next step
Get approved on the terms you want
Send a recent Dominion bill and the address. The free quote sizes the array to your usage and lays out the permit and interconnection schedule, including the May 1, 2027 line.
Solar energy company
AJ Long Electric Solar
AJ Long Electric
7138 Little River Turnpike #305
Annandale, VA 22003
Serving Annandale, Fairfax County, and Northern Virginia.