Top Tier — Virginia Battery Sales Reference

Dominion Energy Virginia · Central, Eastern & Coastal Virginia

Sales reference for reps working Dominion Energy Virginia territory. This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. Virginia's story is rate climb: Dominion's rates are rising on the most documented, most concrete drivers of any market we serve — the $10.7 billion offshore wind project and the data-center load boom that's making Virginia the electricity-demand capital of the country. Add coastal hurricane exposure in Hampton Roads and net metering that's intact for existing customers, and the battery here is a rate hedge, a backup, and a way to protect a valuable position — not a bill-arbitrage play.

What kind of market this is

Dominion is a rate-climb-and-resilience market with intact net metering for existing customers — so the battery is a hedge and a backup, not a spread play. Four defining facts:

1. Dominion's rates are climbing on unusually concrete, documented drivers. Two big ones: the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project — at roughly $10.7 billion, the largest offshore wind project in the U.S., recovered from customers through a dedicated rider (Rider OSW) as it comes online — and an explosion in data-center demand. Virginia is the data-center capital of the world (Loudoun County's "Data Center Alley" carries a huge share of global internet traffic), and Dominion's electricity demand is projected to roughly double in the coming years. Meeting that means enormous grid investment, recovered through rates.
2. Dominion is rider-heavy. On top of base rates, Dominion stacks a series of "rate adjustment clauses" (riders) for individual generation and grid projects. The all-in rate climbs through that rider stack even when base rates hold — so the bill creeps up in ways that aren't obvious from the headline rate.
3. Coastal Virginia is a genuine hurricane-and-flooding market. Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, the Peninsula) is one of the most flood-exposed, sea-level-rise-exposed regions on the East Coast, and the historic June 2012 derecho left more than a million Dominion customers without power, some for days.
4. Net metering is intact for existing customers. If your customer already has solar, they're grandfathered — Dominion's "NEM 2.0" changes reach new enrollees, not them. So the battery isn't about capturing a cheap export spread (there isn't one to capture at 1:1). It's about hedging the rate climb, backup for the storms, and protecting the net-metering position they already hold.

Your lead is the rate climb + resilience. The CVOW-and-data-center rate story is the most concrete, most documented rate-hedge case of any market we serve — lead with it. Then Hampton Roads resilience where the customer is coastal. The net-metering section is reassurance ("you're protected — and worth protecting"), not urgency. There's no cliff for existing customers, so don't sell one.

Default configuration: backup-capable is the sensible default in the coastal/hurricane parts of the territory; self-consumption elsewhere is fine.

• Backup-capable: $18,500 cash / $23,942 financed / ~$228/mo
• Self-consumption-only: $17,000 cash / $22,068 financed / ~$210/mo

Confirm pricing and configuration in the tool before quoting.

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The spine is multiple beats per section: customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config; beats with Self-consumption:/Backup: branches swap the customer line by config.

The Problem

Your rates are climbing — and Dominion has told everyone why. This isn't a vague "power gets more expensive" story. Dominion is building a $10.7 billion offshore wind project and racing to power an explosion of data centers, and both get paid for through your bill. Your solar helps, but as those costs stack up through Dominion's riders, the price of every kilowatt-hour you still buy keeps rising.

Rep layer: The Virginia opener — lead with the rate climb, because it's the most documented of any market. Two named drivers: CVOW (~$10.7B, Rider OSW) and data-center load growth (demand projected to ~double). Dominion's rider structure means the all-in rate climbs even when base rates hold. Objection — "My solar covers my bill." It offsets your usage — but it doesn't shield you from Dominion's rate climb on everything you still draw, and it does nothing in an outage.

Your system is orphaned. Whoever installed your solar is likely gone, merged, or unreachable — especially after so many installers folded when the federal tax credit expired at the end of 2025. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Standard orphaned-system beat. Ask who installed it and whether they'd answer a service call. Objection — "My installer's still around." Would they answer within a week, and cover it?

Your inverter is on the clock. Your inverter is several years old. When it fails out of warranty, that's about $3,500 to $5,000 out of pocket — and your system produces nothing until it's replaced, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Rep layer: Standard inverter beat. SolarEdge ~12-yr warranty, real failure 8–15 yrs; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20. Objection — "Still under warranty." Good — until it isn't, and then it's $3,500–5,000.

(BACKUP ONLY) No protection when the grid goes down — and coastal Virginia knows storms. Your solar shuts off during an outage — anti-islanding, a safety cutoff. A battery keeps your critical systems running — and with sun, it recharges through a multi-day outage.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. VA coastal context: Hampton Roads is hurricane- and flooding-exposed (Norfolk/Virginia Beach, sea-level rise); the June 2012 derecho left 1M+ Dominion customers out, some for days; tropical systems and nor'easters hit the coast regularly. Objection — "We don't lose power that often." The 2012 derecho alone took out over a million Dominion homes, and Hampton Roads floods and loses power in every major coastal storm.

The Solution

A battery hedges a rate climb you can't otherwise control. Stores your daytime solar and uses it at night instead of buying at Dominion's rising rate — so as CVOW and the data-center build-out push rates up, more of your power comes from your panels at a locked cost.

• Self-consumption: "As Dominion's rates climb to pay for offshore wind and all these data centers, your battery leans on your own stored solar instead of buying more at the higher rate."
• Backup: "Hedges the rate climb the same way, and keeps your home running when the grid goes down."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: First cure beat. Because Dominion is 1:1 for existing customers, the mechanism is "maximize self-supply against a rising rate," NOT "capture a spread." The rate-climb drivers (CVOW rider + data-center-driven investment) are the documented engine. No residential battery program you can enroll in TODAY at Dominion — though Virginia's Community Energy Act mandates a Dominion VPP pilot with a residential battery component (SCC tariff petition due Nov 15, 2026, enrollment expected after that), so a battery positions the customer first-in-line when it opens. The value today is the hedge + resilience — do NOT quote pilot income.

(BACKUP ONLY) It keeps your home running when the grid goes down. Powers your essentials through an outage, and with daytime sun, recharges to carry you through a multi-day event.

Rep layer: The resilience cure beat — strongest in Hampton Roads and the coastal counties. Size expectations honestly (essentials, not necessarily whole-home indefinite).

We take it over. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact for your entire system — a new 10-year workmanship warranty, the 5-year Align Solar Protection contract ($0 deductible, non-transferable), and manufacturer warranty coordination.

Rep layer: Answers the orphaned-system problem. Transfers: workmanship with written consent; Align non-transferable; manufacturer per OEM terms.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle — built into the takeover, not sold as extras.

Rep layer: Reframes total cost. "Your payment buys the battery plus warranty plus service plus inverter-replacement coverage — over $11K of value."

And it protects a net-metering position that's worth protecting. Your existing net metering is full-value and intact — a battery maximizes what you get from it (storing your own power instead of leaning on the grid) and keeps you independent no matter what the rules do for future customers.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: Ties to the grandfathering section. Existing Dominion customers are grandfathered (NEM 2.0 reaches new enrollees only). Frame net metering as a protected ASSET, not a cliff. Do NOT imply they're losing it — they aren't. 25-yr rate case: conservative 3%, moderate 5%, aggressive 7%. Objection — "Rates might not climb." Dominion is recovering a $10.7B wind project and doubling capacity for data centers — that's documented, not speculation.

What you actually own. The savings hero — combined value: the rate hedge + resilience + the protected net-metering position + the takeover bundle.

• Self-consumption: "Hedges Dominion's rate climb and maximizes your net metering. Does not provide backup — ask about the upgrade."
• Backup: "Does all of that, plus keeps your critical loads running in an outage."

Rep layer: Virginia combined value = rate hedge (the lead) + resilience + protected net metering + takeover. No VPP income to promise. No-backup disclosure fires ONLY for self-consumption config.

Urgency

The clocks that make acting now better than waiting.

The rate clock. Dominion's big cost drivers are already approved and building — the offshore wind project is under construction and recovering through your bill, and the data-center-driven investment is ramping now. Every month you wait is a month deeper into the rate climb with no hedge.

Rep layer: The honest Virginia urgency — the rate climb is documented and underway (CVOW under construction, Rider OSW recovering, data-center load ramping). Don't manufacture a net-metering deadline (there isn't one for existing customers). The rate climb IS the urgency.

The standby-charge note (larger systems). If your system is larger (above 15 kW), Virginia has a residential standby charge — though a 2026 law (HB 1255) is actually narrowing who it applies to (raising the threshold toward 20 kW). Worth knowing where your customer's system sits.

Rep layer: Only relevant for larger residential systems (>15 kW AC). This is a pre-existing structural charge, and HB 1255 (2026) narrows it — so it's getting BETTER, not worse. Mention it for transparency on larger systems; do NOT frame it as a rising threat.

System aging. Your inverter is aging toward its failure window. The longer you wait, the closer you get to an out-of-warranty replacement at $3,500–5,000 with no service relationship to handle it.

Rep layer: Universal urgency beat.

The storm clock (coastal). Hurricane season doesn't wait, and Hampton Roads takes a hit in every major coastal storm. Installing now means you're protected for the next season, not scrambling after it.

Rep layer: Resilience urgency for coastal customers — honest given the documented flood/hurricane exposure.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm the system details. Run the credit check, and confirm the system size (for the standby-charge note) and configuration.
2. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the disclosures honestly — including that net metering is intact for them (no cliff), that Dominion's rate climb is the documented driver, and that there's no federal tax credit anymore.
3. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ NEVER quote a REP buyback rate as fixed/guaranteed — plan-dependent, confirm the customer's actual plan.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings, and in Texas real VPP income. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: Dominion Energy Virginia — regulated by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). The largest electric utility in Virginia (~2.7M+ customers).
• Territory: Central, eastern, and coastal Virginia — including Richmond, Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Newport News), and Northern Virginia's data-center corridor.
• Market type: Rate-climb-and-resilience market. Full retail net metering intact for existing customers (grandfathered; NEM 2.0 reaches new enrollees only). No residential battery program enrollable today (Community Energy Act VPP pilot pending — enrollment expected after the Nov 15, 2026 tariff filing). Rider-heavy rate structure.
• Default config: Backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228) in coastal/hurricane areas; self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210) elsewhere.

2. How the Dominion Bill Works — Base Rates + Riders

Dominion is a regulated (non-restructured) utility — but its rate structure is unusually rider-heavy, and that's central to the rate-climb story.

1. Base rates — the core distribution and generation rates set in periodic rate reviews.
2. Riders (rate adjustment clauses / RACs) — a stack of separate charges for individual projects: offshore wind (Rider OSW), other generation, grid transformation, and more. Each rider is its own line, and the stack grows as new projects get approved.

Why this matters for the pitch: the all-in rate climbs through the rider stack even when base rates are flat. A customer watching only the "base rate" might not see how much the riders add — but the total bill creeps up as CVOW and grid-investment riders come online. That's the honest, concrete rate-hedge hook: "your rate isn't just the base number — it's the base plus a growing stack of project riders, and the biggest ones are just ramping up." Net metering credits the customer's exports against usage; the battery's job is to reduce how much they buy at the climbing all-in rate.

3. Net Energy Metering — Intact for Existing Customers

Existing Dominion solar customers are grandfathered into full retail net metering. This is NOT a cliff market for them.

• What existing customers have: full retail 1:1 net metering, grandfathered by date of interconnection. Virginia statute (VA Code §56-594(E)) protects customers who interconnect before a new order's effective date.
• What changed (new customers only): Dominion's "NEM 2.0" (SCC Case PUR-2025-00079, final order April 30, 2026) applies to new enrollees — a year-end excess cash-out rate, a small monthly admin fee, 12-month netting preserved. None of this reaches existing grandfathered customers.
• The standby charge: for larger residential systems (>15 kW AC), Virginia has a Phase II standby charge (§56-594(F)) — and HB 1255 (2026, signed) is narrowing it (raising the threshold toward 20 kW). So for the minority of customers with large systems, it's a pre-existing charge that's getting narrower, not a growing threat.
• The cap (context only): Dominion's net-metering program has an aggregate cap that affects whether new applicants can enroll — it does NOT affect existing grandfathered customers. Don't sell "get in before the cap fills" to someone who's already in.

How to sell it honestly: existing customers' net metering is a protected asset — the battery maximizes it and keeps them independent. Do NOT imply they're losing it. See the "Net Metering & Grandfathering Status" section for the full cited detail; the flag for Dominion is PROTECTED.

4. Rate Reality + Why Rates Climb

Why the rate story is a hedge, not a spread: because existing customers keep full 1:1, there's no cheap export rate to arbitrage — the battery doesn't "capture a spread." The value is hedging a documented, steep rate climb by maximizing self-supply.

What's driving Dominion's rates up (named forward drivers):

1. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW). Roughly $10.7 billion, the largest offshore wind project in the U.S., under construction and recovered from customers through Rider OSW as it comes online (targeted through 2026). This is the single most concrete rate driver of any market we serve — it's a specific, named, multi-billion-dollar project on customers' bills.
2. Data-center load growth. Virginia is the data-center capital of the world, and Dominion's demand is projected to roughly double in the coming years. Serving that load requires massive generation and grid investment, recovered through rates. (Honest framing: the load growth drives grid investment that flows through everyone's rates — don't overclaim that residential customers are "subsidizing" data centers, which is contested; the documented fact is the load-driven investment.)
3. The rider stack + grid transformation. Ongoing distribution and grid-modernization investment, each recovered through its own rider.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Dominion is building a $10.7 billion offshore wind project, recovered through a rider on your bill" (documented)
• ✅ "Data-center demand is driving Dominion's load to roughly double, and that investment flows through rates" (documented load growth)
• ✅ "Your all-in rate climbs through a stack of project riders even when base rates hold" (documented structure)
• ❌ "You're subsidizing the data centers" (contested/political — stick to the load-drives-investment framing)
• ❌ "Your bill will be $X by 2030" (speculation)

5. Incentives & Programs

• Battery VPP — none you can enroll in TODAY: Dominion has no open residential battery income program right now. But Virginia's Community Energy Act (VA Code §56-585.1:16; signed May 2025) mandates a Dominion 450 MW VPP pilot with a residential battery component (≥15 MW), with the SCC tariff petition for residential enrollment due Nov 15, 2026 and enrollment expected after that (pilot phase concludes July 1, 2028). A battery installed now positions the customer first-in-line when it opens. The value TODAY is still the rate hedge + resilience — do NOT quote pilot income as guaranteed.
• Virginia state tax credit / rebate: none for solar-storage.
• Property tax exemption: Residential solar of 25 kW or less is exempt from state and local property tax statewide — automatic, no application needed (VA Code §58.1-3661; SB 686, effective Jan 1, 2023). Essentially every residential rooftop system qualifies, so the added home value isn't taxed. (Systems above 25 kW fall under a separate local-option exemption that varies by locality.)
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Do not quote 30%.

6. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not TX-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many Texas solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

7. Outage Reality — Resilience in Dominion Territory

Why outages happen here. Dominion's territory spans two distinct risk profiles:

• Coastal / Hampton Roads (the primary anchor): Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and the Peninsula are among the most flood- and hurricane-exposed areas on the East Coast, with documented sea-level-rise exposure. Every major coastal storm brings flooding and outages.
• Statewide derechos + severe storms: the June 2012 derecho left more than a million Dominion customers without power, some for days — the concrete historic anchor. Summer thunderstorms, tropical systems, and ice events hit the broader territory.

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. Grid-tied solar shuts off automatically in an outage (anti-islanding — a safety requirement), so a solar-only customer has no power even in daylight. A battery with backup keeps essential loads — refrigerator, well pump, medical devices, connectivity, some HVAC — running, and recharges from solar through a multi-day event.

How to pitch it honestly: don't promise whole-home indefinite backup unless sized for it. "A battery keeps your essentials running through an outage, and with your solar it carries you through a multi-day event. In Hampton Roads, where every hurricane season brings flooding and outages, that's not hypothetical — and the 2012 derecho took out over a million homes here." Coastal customers are the strongest resilience fit.

8. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

• What you rent: grid power on Dominion's climbing rates (CVOW rider + data-center-driven investment + the growing rider stack), with no protection when the grid fails.
• What you own (with the battery): your production, stored and used against the rising rate; backup for the storms; and full-retail value on everything you export under your protected net metering.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + exposure to the documented rate climb + the cost of every multi-day outage (spoiled food, hotel nights, flood-season disruption).

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (coastal/hurricane default — resilience): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• Virginia takeaway: backup is the natural default in Hampton Roads and the coastal counties; self-consumption is fine inland. Confirm config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in Dominion figures) + Virginia-specific objections.

"My solar already covers my bill — why add a battery?" (VA-specific — the rate-climb reframe)

"It offsets your usage, and you should keep that. But it doesn't shield you from Dominion's rate climb — they're recovering a $10.7 billion wind project and doubling capacity for data centers, and that flows through your bill on everything you still buy. A battery leans on your own stored power instead, hedges that climb, and keeps you running when the grid goes down."

"Is my net metering going away?" (VA-specific — honest no-cliff)

"No — if you already have solar, you're grandfathered. Dominion's net-metering changes reach new customers, not you. What I'd tell you honestly is that a battery protects the value of the net metering you already have and keeps you independent no matter what happens with the rules down the road. But I'm not going to tell you there's a cliff coming for you, because there isn't."

"Does the battery earn me money through a program?" (VA-specific — honest, pilot-aware)

"Not today — there's no open residential battery payment program yet. Virginia did just mandate a Dominion virtual-power-plant pilot with a residential battery piece, and enrollment's expected to open after late 2026 — a battery installed now puts you first in line for it. But I'm not going to quote you a monthly check that isn't running yet. Your value today is hedging the rate climb, backup for the storms, and getting the most out of your net metering."

"Why is the loan more than the system price?"

"The cash price is $17,000–18,500 depending on config. Service Finance adds dealer fees bringing the financed amount to about $22,068–23,942. Cash or a HELOC is cheaper if that's an option. Virginia has no state credit or battery rebate, so the value is the rate hedge, the resilience, and the takeover — not a discount."

"What if I sell the house?"

"Resale asset — your closing equity pays off the loan, and the new owner inherits a fully-owned system with backup. Top Tier's 10-year workmanship warranty transfers with written consent; the Align contract is non-transferable."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; Dominion's rates (base + riders) change through SCC proceedings and should be verified against current rates.
2. ☐ Existing customers' net metering is full retail and grandfathered (VA Code §56-594(E)); Dominion's NEM 2.0 (PUR-2025-00079) reaches new enrollees only.
3. ☐ A residential standby charge applies to systems >15 kW AC (§56-594(F)); HB 1255 (2026) narrows the threshold. Confirm the customer's system size.
4. ☐ Dominion has no residential battery VPP income program open today; the Community Energy Act VPP pilot (residential enrollment tariff due Nov 15, 2026) is not yet launched — no pilot income may be quoted as guaranteed.
5. ☐ Virginia has no state solar/storage tax credit or rebate. Residential solar ≤25 kW is exempt from state and local property tax statewide (VA Code §58.1-3661, effective Jan 1, 2023); systems above 25 kW fall under a local-option exemption. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025.
6. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms.
7. ☐ Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr); one of three coverage layers, not full coverage.
8. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home indefinite backup is not implied.
9. ☐ Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

13. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• Net metering (existing): full retail 1:1, grandfathered (VA Code §56-594(E))
• NEM 2.0 (new only): year-end cash-out ~5.8¢/kWh + $1/mo admin (PUR-2025-00079)
• Standby charge: residential >15 kW AC (narrowing toward 20 kW via HB 1255)
• Rate drivers: CVOW ~$10.7B (Rider OSW) + data-center load (~doubling) + rider stack
• Battery VPP: no enrollable program today (Community Energy Act pilot pending, tariff due Nov 15 2026); state credit: none; property tax: residential ≤25 kW statewide exempt (VA Code §58.1-3661)
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000
• System takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000
• Primary resilience anchor: June 2012 derecho — 1M+ Dominion customers out; Hampton Roads hurricane/flood exposure

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• Never imply existing customers are losing net metering — they're grandfathered. The rate climb is the urgency, not a net-metering cliff.
• Never claim "you're subsidizing data centers" — stick to the documented load-drives-investment framing.
• Never frame the standby charge as a rising threat — it's pre-existing and being narrowed by HB 1255.
• Never sell a spread — existing customers are 1:1; there isn't one. The value is the rate hedge + resilience.
• Get the property-tax exemption right — residential ≤25 kW is statewide-exempt automatically; only systems above 25 kW are local-option.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired).