Dominion Solar Standby Charges in Virginia: Why System Size Matters

A larger solar array does not necessarily remove more of a Virginia homeowner's utility bill dollar for dollar. For certain Dominion Energy Virginia net-metering customers, crossing a system-size threshold brings a standby-charge calculation into the bill. A proposal that compares only annual solar production with annual household consumption can miss that cost. Before relying on a promised near-zero bill, identify the utility, rate schedule, system capacity, and billing assumptions.

Start with the utility and rate schedule

This article focuses on Dominion Energy Virginia residential net-metering accounts. Dominion's current program page identifies Schedules 1, 1S, and 1G as subject to standby charges when generation exceeds 20 kW AC. Those schedules have different billing structures. The numerical illustration below uses Schedule 1 only, with usage effective on and after July 1, 2026, verified September 11, 2026.

Virginia Code Section 56-594(F) addresses Phase II utility territory and ties the charge to an SCC-approved methodology. It prohibits these standby charges for residential and agricultural customer-generators of other investor-owned utilities from July 1, 2020. Electric cooperatives have a separate statutory framework under Section 56-594.01. Municipal service and competitive supply arrangements also need their own review. Do not carry Dominion's calculation onto another provider's bill.

Find the rate-schedule designation on your bill or ask the utility to confirm it. A salesperson's use of the broad phrase Virginia net metering does not establish your account's price structure. If you changed plans after installing solar, keep both the previous and current schedules with the dates the changes took effect.

The threshold is over 20 kW AC

The current Dominion schedules use aggregate generator nameplate capacity exceeding 20 kilowatts of alternating current. Exactly 20 kW AC does not exceed that threshold. A proposal's panel rating in direct-current watts is not interchangeable with the AC figure in the utility's approval records. Ask for the capacity accepted for the net-metering account and a reconciliation with the equipment schedule.

System capacity and household demand are also different measurements. Capacity determines whether this standby provision applies. Measured demand is used in calculating the amount. A homeowner should not multiply the charge by the solar array's advertised size and assume that is the bill. Ask the utility which demand measurement appears on the statement and how it was determined.

A qualifying system can be permitted to participate in net metering while still being subject to a charge. Approval to interconnect does not certify a seller's projected savings. Likewise, a project below this particular threshold may still have ordinary customer charges and other costs. Treat system eligibility, electrical approval, billing, and the sales agreement as separate questions.

How Dominion Schedule 1 calculates standby charges

Under the July 1, 2026 Schedule 1 tariff, the distribution standby component is $4.19 per kW of demand, less the distribution energy charge specified in Section II.A.2, with a floor of zero. The transmission standby component is $1.32 per kW of demand, less the transmission energy charge under Section II.B.2.a, also floored at zero. The tariff defines demand as the highest average kW measured in a 30-minute interval during the billing month, rounded to a tenth.

For a simplified monthly illustration, assume the applicable demand is 8.0 kW. The distribution amount before its subtraction is $33.52, and the transmission amount before its subtraction is $10.56. If the corresponding energy-charge offsets were an illustrative $20 and $6, the two standby components would be $13.52 and $4.56. These assumed offsets explain the formula; they are not a forecast for a particular household.

Other charges and applicable riders remain outside that simplified illustration. Schedule 1 also distinguishes customers receiving electricity supply from a competitive provider. Schedules 1S and 1G have their own demand, timing, and subtraction provisions. A complete estimate must use the actual schedule and supply arrangement rather than importing the Schedule 1 example unchanged.

Check the savings estimate against the bill

Start with matching billing periods. A solar monitoring application may display calendar-month production while a utility bill covers different meter-reading dates. Compare the dates before interpreting a difference as a missing credit or production failure. Then separate energy supplied by the utility, energy sent back to it, the demand figure, the standby components, and the solar payment.

Dominion explains that its meter does not measure all solar production because electricity consumed inside the home does not pass through that meter. A production total alone therefore cannot reconstruct every line of the utility bill. Ask the installer to explain how the forecast handles onsite consumption, exported energy, purchases from the utility, and the demand-based calculation.

Keep the original savings presentation. Request a revised estimate showing the current tariff and the household assumptions used, without replacing the historical document. The useful comparison is not simply whether production increased. It is whether the expected household cost included charges that still apply and the financing, lease, or other solar payment.

Rates and tariff terms can change during a long agreement. The figures here describe the cited July 2026 tariff, not a guaranteed lifetime price. Ask how the proposal handles future tariff changes and whether any written performance commitment covers billing outcomes or only equipment production. Those are materially different promises.

Review an expansion or home purchase carefully

An expansion deserves a fresh billing review before the new agreement is signed. Ask whether the proposed aggregate AC capacity crosses the applicable threshold and how the forecast changes if standby billing applies. Do not assume that a prior system's billing treatment automatically describes a larger installation. Obtain the utility's written explanation of the amended account.

For a home purchase, request recent utility bills, the net-metering approval, the equipment schedule, and the solar agreement or transfer documents. Dominion's program information says the net-metering premise continues with the next owner unless it is advised that the system has been removed. That utility treatment does not itself settle ownership, financing, or lease-transfer obligations between the parties.

Documents to collect and questions to ask

Ask the utility for the actual schedule, applicable tariff dates, demand record, and calculation behind a disputed charge. Ask the seller which standby assumptions were included in the proposal and where they appear. Keep the responses in writing with the agreement, bills, production records, and interconnection documents. A specific unexplained line item is easier to investigate than a general expectation that solar should eliminate every bill.

An unexpected standby charge does not by itself prove fraud, establish a contract violation, or create an automatic cancellation right. The timing, representations, written terms, account history, and applicable law need to be reviewed. Do not change electrical equipment or stop contractual payments based on this article.

See the Virginia utility-billing guidance, payment and financing questions, and home-sale considerations. Organize the records using our document-review checklist and request a Solar Exit agreement review if the promise and the paperwork do not match. A review does not guarantee cancellation, reimbursement, or a particular result.

General consumer information, not legal, tax, financial, mortgage, or electrical advice. Exit Your Solar is not a law firm. Utility territory, tariff, account history, agreement terms, and individual facts matter. Consult an appropriately qualified professional for advice about your situation.