Author: Steve Haner
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DEQ Pushes Back on RGGI Costs; Meeting Set
Virginia’s Air Pollution Control Board will meet April 19 to consider the next regulatory step to limit CO2 emissions from Virginia electricity plants through membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The agenda packet for the meeting, on-line here, contains more than 330 pages on the complicated issue, probably the best point counterpoint discussion on…
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Enough. This Partisan Bias Is Just Too Obvious.
Look, we conservatives understand that as far as the media is concerned, we are second-class citizens. But for giggles let’s just demonstrate the most recent case. When I write about the new hemp bill on Bacon’s Rebellion last month, it gets good readership for Bacon’s Rebellion but of course there is no reference to it…
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Retailers Still Push To Escape Dominion Monopoly
The large retail establishments seeking to aggregate their electricity demand and take their business away from Dominion Energy Virginia have not been dissuaded by a February ruling that went against them. One of the petitioners in that case is seeking reconsideration, and the petitioner in another major case has sharpened its argument that the State…
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A kWh Saved Costs Triple A kWh Used. You Pay.
Buying yourself a kilowatt hour of electricity costs about twelve cents. Persuading your next-door neighbor or the store at the corner to use less electricity is three times as expensive, costing about 35 cents per kilowatt hour.
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On Energy Efficiency, Ratepayers Lose Again
Fellow electricity ratepayers, we just took it in the neck again. This morning’s Richmond Times-Dispatch brings the news that Dominion Energy Virginia will not seek to count lost revenue as one of the cost elements in the energy efficiency program it was ordered to undertake by the 2018 Ratepayer Bill Transformation Act. This follows an…
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Sure, Give The Money To Everybody. Why Not?
The so-called Taxpayer Relief Fund to be created with the residual dollars from the 2019 state tax legislation has not seen the first dollar deposited and Governor Ralph Northam is already proposing to spend some of it, seeking to expand the refunds which were part of that bill to all Virginians.
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Boomergeddon’s Coal Mine Canary Sings Warning
Angry consumer complaints are starting to appear on a growing case record at the State Corporation Commission, which opened the case on its own authority to demand insurance company presentations on the long-term care product market and its history of massive rate hikes. A typical comment so far: “This frankly, appears to be a ploy…
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Grass No, Hemp Yes! New VA Law Signed
Two years of trade-dispute induced tariffs have decimated Virginia’s tobacco farmers, the president of Virginia’s Board for Agriculture and Consumer Services told his fellow board members Thursday. As he spoke Governor Ralph Northam was upstairs in the same building preparing to sign legislation the industry hopes provides a path forward for those same farmers. Hemp. …
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Energy Bacon Bits: VNG Case, LED, APCo’s Grid
The State Corporation Commission has approved a challenged natural gas contract between Virginia Natural Gas and an affiliated asset management firm, but the next request for proposal process will start this coming summer with substantially greater oversight. The March 15 opinion is here. As reported on Bacon’s Rebellion a few weeks ago, losing bidders for…
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SCC Details High Customer Cost of RGGI
The State Corporation Commission staff has “shown its work” on an earlier estimate of electricity rate increases resulting from Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, despite a Democratic legislator’s complaint in Sunday’s Washington Post it was not being transparent. “Even if you agree with the SCC, its analyses should be public information designed…
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Arlington Welcomes Amazon 5-0 As Crowd Screams
The Arlington Board of Supervisors endured six hours of public hearing marked by local hooligans screaming at Amazon company representatives, then voted 5-0 Saturday for the modest local incentive package negotiated to bring the tech giant to a new location near Reagan National Airport and Crystal City. A review of the final county staff presentation…
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Next Up: Carbon Tax, Cap and Trade On Your SUV
They are coming next for your SUV. While the Air Pollution Control Board still has steps to take, it is safe to consider Virginia’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative a done deal. That will quickly hit you in your electric bill, as Virginia’s two major electricity generators will have to pay a tax…
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Scrap the Truman? Make Your Case, Navy
Despite 12 years of work for the Virginia shipyard where these magnificent beasts are born, maintained and where they go to die, I am no expert on nuclear aircraft carriers. Political games around budgets, however? There I have a bit of experience. A few years back the United States Navy made what appeared to be…
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Passing Class No Guarantee of Certificate In New State Workforce Program
Virginia’s FastForward workforce credential program now in its third year is showing good success in getting students through training, but a high number of people in some programs do not earn the matching certificate. Those who achieve both usually show the highest wage growth. For those who went into the program earning under $20,000 a…
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Updates: IRP Amendments, Utility Tax Cuts
Dominion Files IRP Amendments, Cost Scenarios Requested by SCC Late last week Dominion Virginia Power filed a summary of amendments and additions to its rejected Integrated Resource Plan, along with a legal memorandum arguing with the SCC over what parts of the 2018 Ratepayer Bill Transformation Act are mandates. Dominion, of course, uses its name for…