RICHMOND – The holiday season, for many, means good food, gifts, gatherings with friends and loved ones and engaging in special festivities. Don’t let cooking fires, stolen gifts, icy sidewalks, overworked electrical outlets or other seasonal hazards dampen your holiday spirit.

The State Corporation Commission’s Bureau of Insurance (Bureau) encourages Virginians to protect themselves financially against holiday mishaps by ensuring they have the insurance coverage they need.

“At home or on the road, don’t let a lack of insurance coverage put the brakes on your happy holiday season,” said Virginia Insurance Commissioner Scott White. “Review your insurance now. Understand what is and is not covered and ask your insurance agent or company if you have questions.”

Review your insurance coverage and update it as needed to protect yourself and your loved ones in the event an injury, illness, theft or other mishap occurs.

Take steps now to keep your home, vehicle and belongings safe during the holidays. Know how much your auto and homeowners insurance will cover if someone steals gifts, decorations or other items from your vehicle, home or yard. Know, too, what type of insurance you need if a special holiday meal or decorations go up in flames; an undercooked turkey sends guests to the hospital; a guest slips and falls on your front steps; or frozen pipes burst causing water damage to your home.

Severe winter weather and distracted drivers can make holiday driving a challenge. Keep your auto insurance company’s contact information and a copy of your insurance card with you when you drive. Review your liability limits to ensure you have adequate protection against injury or damage if you are involved in an accident during the hectic holiday rush.

Know what your health insurance will cover if you need treatment at an urgent care facility or hospital while you are out-of-state or traveling abroad. Take health insurance information with you when traveling, such as identification cards and contact details for all of your family members.

Make an early New Year’s resolution to create – or update – your home inventory. An inventory can help you determine if your homeowners or renters policy provides enough coverage for your belongings and can facilitate the claims process if you have to file an insurance claim. An inventory also will help you identify high-cost items that may need separate insurance coverage such as jewelry, art or electronics.

Check to make sure you have insurance coverage for seasonal activities that you may enjoy such as skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling.

For information about a variety of insurance-related topics, contact the Bureau in Richmond at 804-371-9741 or toll-free at 1-877-310-6560 or visit its website at scc.virginia.gov/pages/Insurance. Additional information also may be found on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ website at naic.org.

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Contact: Katha Treanor, 804-371-9141

Richmond – The State Corporation Commission (SCC) has scheduled a hearing on Dominion Energy Virginia’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) this spring. An IRP is a document developed by an electric utility that provides a forecast of that electric utility’s load obligations and a plan to meet those obligations by supply side and demand side resources over the next 15 years to promote reasonable prices, reliable service, energy independence, and environmental responsibility. 

In its IRP, Dominion forecasts a 5.5 percent annual increase in electricity demand over the next decade, and for electricity demand to double by 2039 in the company’s delivery zone within the PJM Interconnection, LLC (PJM) region. PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in 13 Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia.

Dominion asserts that the Company's IRP "highlights the need to address significant demand growth through resource adequacy across all functions of the utility, the balance between clean energy priorities and the paramount requirement of service reliability, and maintaining rates that continue to be affordable for [the Company's] customers…" Dominion also recognizes that the IRP is a “snapshot in time” and not a request to approve any specific resource or portfolio.

The SCC has scheduled a public witness session to begin at 10 a.m. on April 14, 2025. Public witnesses intending to provide oral testimony must pre-register with the SCC by 5 p.m. on April 8, 2025. The hearing will be webcast at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting.  

Public witnesses wishing to provide oral testimony may pre-register in one of three ways:

• Completing a public witness form for case number PUR-2024-00184 on the SCC’s website at: scc.virginia.gov/pages/Webcasting 
• E-mailing the same form (PDF version on the same website as above) to SCCInfo@scc.virginia.gov
• Calling the SCC at 804-371-9141 during normal business hours (8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m.) and providing your name and the phone number you wish the Commission to call to reach you during the hearing.
• To promote fairness for all public witnesses, each witness will be allotted five minutes to provide testimony.

A public evidentiary hearing will follow the public witness hearing at 10 a.m. on April 15, 2025, in the SCC’s second floor courtroom at 1300 East Main Street in Richmond to receive testimony and evidence from the company, any respondents and the SCC staff.

For those who prefer, there is also an opportunity to provide comments in writing on the Dominion application. Written comments may be submitted through the SCC’s website by April 8, 2025,  at scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/Submit-Public-Comments. Simply go to the SCC website, select "Cases" and then "Submit Public Comments," and scroll down to case number PUR-2024-00184. Then select SUBMIT COMMENTS. 

Comments can also be submitted by U.S. mail to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, c/o Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118. All comments must refer to case number PUR-2024-00184. 

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Contact: Andy Farmer, 804-371-9141

Case Number PUR-2024-00184 – Dominion Energy Virginia’s Integrated Resource Plan