The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support DEQ Guidance Memo APG-578 which refines the definition of “suddenly and reasonably unforeseeable” to allow the use of emergency generators for planned outages outside the control of individual businesses. Across the Commonwealth, employers and public institutions alike, including manufacturers, hospitals, and schools, have emergency generators on site to ensure that essential operations can continue during a loss of electrical service. At the same time, electric utilities work continuously to ensure the safety and reliability of the electric grid. That work can require service interruptions that are planned, but provided with short or limited notice to affected businesses.

Under current regulations, these planned outages do not meet the definition of an emergency because advance notice is assumed to provide affected businesses sufficient time to secure alternative sources of power without relying on emergency generators. In practice, however, circumstances may not allow for these options to be available. When multiple businesses are affected simultaneously, a limited supply of temporary generators can make compliance challenging potentially limiting business operations. Moreover, when temporary generators are available, they often emit as much, or more, air pollution than emergency generators already on-site.

Guidance Memo APG-578 provides a practical and reasonable interpretation that recognizes the constraints on business operations due to planned outages with limited notice while maintaining safeguards to protect air quality. By providing clarity and flexibility, this interpretation supports business continuity without compromising environmental standards.