Tag Archives: Stephen D. Haner

Great Judges Can’t Fix Bad Energy Laws

Posted on January 29, 2024 by | 23 comments

Former SCC Commissioner Mark Christie communicated his enthusiasm for Kelsey Bagot’s election with this photo on X.

By Steve Haner

The General Assembly has now filled the two open seats at the State Corporation Commission (SCC), ending two years of gridlock.  Unfortunately, the same legislators, on both sides of the aisle, are still working overtime to dictate and micromanage the state’s energy policy, reducing the discretion and authority of the independent, non-partisan regulators. 

Samuel T. Towell, elected to the SCC last week, fits the expected mold for such positions.  His legal career has been inside and outside the Virginia government, with his term as the civil litigation deputy under Attorney General Mark Herring (D) as the highlight of his resume.  In that role he supervised the consumer counsel functions under Herring, participating in SCC matters.  Since then, he has been working for Smithfield Foods.  

Breaking the mold is Kelsey Bagot, only a decade out of Harvard Law and with no real Virginia-specific experience.  She spent much of her career so far at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), working part of that time for former SCC Chairman Mark Christie.  Christie’s expressed enthusiasm for her qualifications makes her about as close to a bipartisan choice as was possible.   

They join current Commissioner Jehmal Hudson, also a veteran of FERC, who has been serving by himself for more than a year.  Towell and Hudson, less than 20 years out of law school, and the younger Bagot form a trio that could be in office together for decades.  That had to be on the minds of the legislators (all Democrats) who made these choices.   

Fully qualified and engaged judges are still bound to follow the law.  Virginia’s headlong rush into an economically foolish war on fossil fuels is being directed by the bills flowing from the General Assembly, not by rogue judges.  If the last two sessions controlled by Democrats, 2020 and 2021, were a two-alarm EV battery fire, the 2024 session could be the equivalent of the Maui apocalypse.    Continue reading →

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Posted in Energy, Environment, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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Two Excellent Nominees Emerge for SCC

Posted on January 23, 2024 by | 12 comments

Kelsey A. Bagot, now nominated for the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

By Steve Haner

The new Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly is moving rapidly to fill the two State Corporation Commission vacancies with excellent, qualified choices. One is well known in Virginia and the second is new to our hallowed Capitol, but with a decade of energy law experience on the federal level.

Former Virginia Deputy Attorney General Samuel T. Towell has degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (engineering) and the University of Virginia (law).  Kelsey A. Bagot just got her Harvard Law degree a decade ago, but she had the opportunity at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to work for former SCC Chairman Mark Christie.

Former Deputy Attorney General Sam Towell, also nominated today.

Both appeared this afternoon before a brief, perfunctory really, joint meeting of the relevant House and Senate committees. Within a couple of minutes, with only one question asked, both were unanimously certified as qualified. Which they are.

It will be up to the full House and Senate to formally elect them at some point in the next few days. The two seats they will fill have been vacant for a long time and they will start with desks piled high. Members of the SCC are actually judges, subject to Virginia judicial canons. The pending state budget sets the salaries as of next July 1 at $214,000 for the chair and $212,000 for the other two members. Continue reading →

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Posted in Business and Economy, Consumer protection, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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Index Minimum Wage? Do the Tax Code, Too.

Posted on January 19, 2024 by | 110 comments

By Steve Haner

One bill that certainly is heading for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s desk is the increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour as of two years from now. Both versions, House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1, raise it to $13.50 for next year, with the $15 level kicking in a year later. Both bills are now out of their first committees.

It was a campaign promise. The Democrats in both chambers coordinated to make it their first bill of the year on both sides. Smart marketing. Soon the Republican governor must decide whether it becomes his first veto, with Republican legislators then having to vote to sustain it or not. Continue reading →

110 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, General Assembly, Taxes, Unions

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Will Democrats Revisit Virginia Net Zero Laws?

Posted on January 18, 2024 by | 63 comments

Senator David Marsden, D-Fairfax, sees “serious problems” in Virginia’s net zero laws.

By Steve Haner

For the third year in a row, Democrats in the Virginia Senate have shot down an effort to divorce Virginia’s auto dealers from California’s impending mandates on electric vehicle sales. But before the predetermined vote went down, the new chair of the committee made a surprise announcement that he and his colleagues are open to revisiting Virginia’s legal rush to end fossil fuels.

Senator David Marsden, D-Fairfax, said he and Senator Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, have discussed using the period between the 2024 and 2025 General Assembly sessions to convene a conference on the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and the many other statues they passed to suppress coal, oil and natural gas use.  Republicans later shared his musings on X.

What serious problems, Mr. Chairman? Tell us more.

Marsden is the new chair of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee and Deeds now chairs the Commerce and Labor Committee. The Virginia Mercury noted Marsden’s comments at the tail end of its report on the meeting, but it was the only actual news to break out that afternoon. The Richmond Times-Dispatch failed to mention Marsden’s announcement but had a nice photo of a half-empty Tesla charging lot in California.

Truth would have been better served by a photo of the stranded EV’s waiting for crowded, failing chargers in frigid climes this week. There is a reason consumers have not been rushing to buy EV’s at the expected rates.  Despite the happy talk from mandate proponents, the targets are pie-in-the-sky. The only winner in this whole process is Tesla, getting rich selling carbon credits under the cap-and-trade element of the California regime. Continue reading →

63 Comments

Posted in Energy, Environment, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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Thank Coal, Gas for Your Warm House Today

Posted on January 15, 2024 by | 45 comments

PJM generation mix as of 8 a.m. this morning. Coal, natural gas and nuclear are meeting the vast majority of the demand.

By Steve Haner

Good morning, Virginia.  Your lights and heat are on, and you can thank coal and natural gas. Here are the 8 a.m. charts from PJM’s website, which you can check periodically today as the winter weather closes in. Those fuels were providing more than 66% of our electricity, with nuclear providing almost another third. Go to the website for the interactive version. The 9 a.m. chart is little changed.

The data are for the entire PJM region, not just Virginia.

Billions of dollars into the renewable energy transition, various renewable sources were providing less than 6 megawatts throughout the entire system, not even 5% of demand. Solar should increase a bit as the day proceeds, but the projection (on the same website) is that wind will dip toward the middle of the day.

The breakdown of generation from renewable sources, mainly hydro. The solar output should improve but in much of the region winter storm clouds will continue to limit it, and snow may pile up on solar panels.

Remember, this is a holiday and the peak demand projected for the workday tomorrow is higher. But the sun may be back to help at least a bit.

We could be Alberta, Canada. Here is what they are going through. Or Texas. Read those links and know, that is the future the General Assembly and the wind and solar industrial complex that owns it have planned for us.

45 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, Environment

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As Dominion and APCO $oar, NOVEC Drops Rates

Posted on January 10, 2024 by | 80 comments

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative’s territory within the greater Northern Virginia region.

By Steve Haner

The major “rural” electric cooperative serving very urban Northern Virginia is drastically lowering its rates as of this month, because the cost it is paying for bulk power purchases has dropped. The contrast with what is happening with Virginia’s two major investor-owned electric companies may be telling Virginia something if anybody wants to listen.

NOVEC, or Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, will be charging its residential users just under $114 for each 1,000 kilowatt hours of usage, down more than $26. The commercial and industrial users among its 175,000 customers are seeing comparable reductions. Continue reading →

80 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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God Made Nikki Haley, Too

Posted on January 9, 2024 by | 141 comments

By Steve Haner

On or before March 5, I will cast a vote for former Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley for the GOP nomination for president. She edges out Governor and former Congressman Ron DeSantis with me mainly on questions of temperament and foreign policy. I am not an isolationist.

There are six names on that Virginia ballot for the Republicans, and three for the Democrats. There is no reason at this point to believe, or even hope, that the outcome will be something other than victories here for Donald Trump and Joe Biden. If that is the matchup in November, the betting at this point would have to be Virginia’s electoral votes go blue again. Continue reading →

141 Comments

Posted in Elections, Politics

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How Not To Do Tax Reform. Again.

Posted on January 8, 2024 by | 34 comments

By Steve Haner

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration had its first formal discussion with Virginia’s local governments about eliminating their car tax collections two days after he announced it publicly.

The General Assembly convenes Wednesday and if there is a plan to replace the $2.8 billion in local government revenue raised by that tax source, it has not surfaced. Voters truly detest the local levy, mainly because it is one of the few taxes everybody pays by check or with a credit card, but at this point it is safe to assume the idea is dead in the water. Continue reading →

34 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, General Assembly, Taxes

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SCC Examiner Says No to Dominion Gas Plans

Posted on December 10, 2023 by | 46 comments

By Steve Haner

A hearing examiner at the Virginia State Corporation Commission has recommended rejection of Dominion Virginia Energy’s plan to maintain and add to its fleet of fossil fuel generators. It failed to overcome the presumption in state law that all such plants must go away, she wrote.

In her extensive report following the months-long regulatory battle, Ann Berkebile notes that the Commission itself (still hobbled with only one full member and a retired commissioner sitting in) may reach a different conclusion. And the pending case, Dominion’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), does not actually involve final decisions on what power plants to add or delete from its assets in coming years.

But Dominion was looking for a blessing from the Commission on its proposal to maintain most of its natural gas plants and even add one, a 1,000 megawatt facility it wants to place in Chesterfield County. The 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act has set a schedule for their retirement, with all fossil fuel generation expected to be gone in about 20 years. Dominion’s announcement last May that it was seeking to keep and add to its natural gas plants was immediately denounced by environmental advocates.

The 2020 legislation included a provision to allow the SCC to approve an additional fossil fuel plant if a utility demonstrates “that it has already met the energy savings goals identified in § 56-596.2 and that the identified need cannot be met more affordably through the deployment or utilization of demand-side resources or energy storage resources and that it has considered and weighed alternative options, including third-party market alternatives, in its selection process.” Continue reading →

46 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, Environment, Regulation, Utilities

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Virginia’s Final (Maybe) RGGI Tax Grab: $97M

Posted on December 9, 2023 by | 23 comments

Virginia’s final (maybe) sale of allowances for power plant carbon emissions produced a record $97.4 million. The price for each permit to emit one ton of carbon dioxide, which is passed to customers, has about doubled in four years.

by Steve Haner

Virginia has participated in its final (for a while anyway) Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction and the proceeds on the carbon tax set a new record, with Virginia collecting more than $97 million in one swoop. The total carbon tax take for the state is just under $828 million in three years.

The clearing price on December 6 reached $14.88 per ton. It would have been higher but the demand for allowances was so high the RGGI organization released some of its “cost containment reserve” or CCR allowances to tamp down the price increase. The news release on the auction is here. A chart showing Virginia’s proceeds over the three years is attached.

Why the record price? Here’s a solid suggestion: Power producers fear another major winter stressing their systems and know full well that wind and solar are unpredictable and unreliable. They are stocking up on allowances to keep our lights on with fossil fuels.

Just four years ago when the Thomas Jefferson Institute of Public Policy produced this explainer on what RGGI was, the “carbon price” was $5.27 a ton and the prediction was Virginia would collect $150 million a year from electricity producers and eventually their customers. “There is no guarantee the price won’t rise,” we noted, and indeed a steadily rising price for carbon emissions is entirely the point of RGGI.

Pushed by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) the Air Pollution Control Board voted earlier this year to rescind the state regulation that forces Virginia’s larger electric power plants to purchase allowances from RGGI for every ton of coal, natural gas or oil they burn. So far, efforts to reverse that decision in the courts have failed. Continue reading →

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Posted in Energy, Environment, General Assembly, Regulation, Taxes, Utilities

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Virginia Beach Nixes Kitty Hawk Wind Cables

Posted on December 1, 2023 by | 17 comments

Site map for the first phase and cable connection route for the proposed Kitty Hawk Wind project.

by Steve Haner

The political leaders of the City of Virginia Beach have informed an offshore wind developer that they oppose its plan to bring power cables ashore at Sandbridge Beach. No formal vote was taken on the application, however, according to media reports.

The story appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and on local television station WAVY around Thanksgiving. When Bacon’s Rebellion last visited this matter, Virginia Beach City Council had conducted a May public hearing at which most speakers strongly opposed the power cable location. Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, Environment, Land use & development, Regulation, Utilities

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Excess Profits Squeezed Out From Dominion Rates

Posted on November 17, 2023 by | 37 comments

By Steve Haner

The long struggle to prevent Dominion Energy Virginia from earning excess profits in its base rates year after year appears to be over and consumers finally won.  That is the main takeaway as the first general review of its base rates since the 2023 regulatory re-write is moving toward a quick settlement.

The complicated changes in the regulatory structure included wins and losses for consumers, but the impact on this first rate case review is proving to be net positive for the 2.6 million customer accounts.  Most of the various parties who have been dissecting the company’s accounts and forward projections are now willing to end the case with a settlement. Continue reading →

37 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, Energy, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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Dominion Wind May Be Sued, Hikes Customer Bills

Posted on November 15, 2023 by | 17 comments

The first eight monopile bases for Dominion Energy’s CVOW project arrive on the Portsmouth waterfront. But a planned German-owned wind turbine blade factory nearby ist kaput.

by Steve Haner

Two national activist groups on energy and environmental issues, both with connections to Virginia, have taken the first legal steps to challenge the recent federal approvals for Virginia’s planned offshore wind complex.  Most of what follows is directly from their announcement dated November 14.

The Heartland Institute and the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) are filing with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) a 60 Day Notice of Intent to Sue letter for a violation of the Endangered Species Act. The violation is contained in a defective “biological opinion,” which authorizes the construction of Dominion Energy Virginia’s Virginia Offshore Wind Project (VOW). Continue reading →

17 Comments

Posted in Energy, Environment, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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Dominion, Clean VA Spend $23M Buying Influence

Posted on November 5, 2023 by | 25 comments

By Steve Haner

Dominion Energy Virginia has increased its donations to Virginia state politicians six-fold in just four years. The other major donors in the energy regulation arena, Clean Virginia Fund and its founder, have done much the same. They are donating five times more in the 2023 election cycle than they did in the similar 2019 cycle.

The two political behemoths have donated about $23 million between them, compared to about $4 million four years ago. The totals really won’t be known until the final reports are due after Tuesday’s election.

Virginia’s election laws are so porous, the real spending won’t be clear even then. Here in the last weekend another round of mailings in favor of various candidates has appeared from an advocacy group called Power for Tomorrow. It sent similar mailings out just before the June primary.

Reporting at that time noted that Dominion had provided funding for Power for Tomorrow, which basically is praising candidates who had voted for Dominion’s 2023 regulatory bill. There is every reason to believe it is acting at Dominion’s behest, and no question these mailers are intended to promote the candidates.

No data on who received them or what they cost, for either the primary or general election mailers, can be found at Virginia Public Access Project. The text does not actually say to vote for the candidate in focus, which may be the claimed loophole.

The mailer that appeared in Henrico County mailboxes praising Senator Siobahn Dunnavant used exactly the same talking points that Dominion has used through the year to describe that bill, which had its good and bad points. The mailer appeared just one day after the State Corporation Commission implemented part of that bill, allowing Dominion to convert two years of unpaid fuel bills into a bond, and then make its ratepayers pay off the bond over 7 years. Continue reading →

25 Comments

Posted in Elections, General Assembly, Money in politics, Political Influence

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SCC Approves Paying Extra for Fuel As “Relief”

Posted on November 3, 2023 by | 26 comments

by Steve Haner

The Virginia State Corporation Commission has approved Dominion Energy Virginia’s request to stretch out the back payments on $1.3 billion in old fuel bills from previous years over more than seven years. While the ultimate dollar cost to customers is millions higher because of interest charges, even the SCC news release touted the move as “rate relief.” Continue reading →

26 Comments

Posted in Business and Economy, General Assembly, Regulation, Utilities

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