Tag: Dominion
-
Pipeline Runs Afoul of Endangered Species
Atlantic Coast Pipeline foes won a significant legal victory yesterday when the Richmond-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a Fish and Wildlife Service Review of pipeline construction. Limits set by the federal agency for the protection of endangered species were “so indeterminate” that they rendered enforcement of the Endangered Species Act meaningless. “This puts…
-
How Fast Will Electricity Demand Grow?
Dominion projects that demand for electricity will increase 1.4% a year over the next 15 years. How accurate is that forecast? Billions of dollars ride on the answer. The single-most important forecast Dominion Energy Virginia had to make when compiling its 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), released earlier this week, was to project electricity consumption…
-
Dominion’s Track Record on Carbon Reduction
This is the first of a series of posts based on Dominion Energy Virginia’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan. Regardless of what happens to federal CO2 regulations under President Trump, Dominion Energy Virginia is conducting its long-range strategic planning on the assumption that carbon regulation of power station emissions is “virtually assured in the future.” The…
-
Dominion Long-Range Plan: More Solar, More Gas
Dominion Virginia Energy filed this afternoon its 2018 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), an updated 15-year strategic plan. The IRP reiterates the utility’s commitment to more natural gas and more solar power as a path to a lower carbon future. There’s a lot to cover here, so I will just hit the highlights today, and I’ll…
-
Emerging Lines of Conflict in Virginia Energy Policy
The General Assembly may have ushered Virginia’s energy sector into a new era with its passage of the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, but the battle over energy policy is far from finished. It’s just entering a new phase under new ground rules. New battlefronts are emerging over energy efficiency and onshore wind…
-
Gas Pipelines in Virginia’s Reconfigured Energy Future
The furor over construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) continues unabated this week. News reports have highlighted legislators in Richmond joining pipeline protesters outside the state Capitol and, more colorfully, the antics of a dissident known as “Red” who has ensconced herself in a tree to block clearance of…
-
Beats a Poke in the Eye with a Sharp Stick
Critics are furious that Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Co. won’t be returning all of their excess profits to rate payers, but this year Virginians will enjoy modest rate reductions nonetheless. First, the two power companies will return savings made possible by the federal 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax reductions — $125…
-
Pushing Forward Virginia’s Solar Future
A couple of years ago, the rap against Dominion Energy Virginia was that it was hostile to solar power. That line of thought is harder to maintain now that Dominion is committed to build at least 5,200 megawatts of solar power — roughly a quarter of its generating capacity — by 2042. Dave Mayfield at…
-
Ruling Opens Electric Competition for Big Virginia Customers
Direct Energy Services Inc., a Houston-based retailer of electricity and energy-related services, is allowed to sell 100% renewable energy to large customers in Virginia without a restriction that would forbid customers from returning to their incumbent utility without a five-years’ advance written notice, under a Virginia Supreme Court ruling issued this morning. The Supreme Court…
-
Dominion Files to Recover Undergrounding Costs
Dominion Energy Virginia has filed for a $73 million rate increase to cover the cost of Phases 2 and 3 of its Strategic Undergrounding Program (SUP). The two phases of the program, designed to limit outages from severe weather events and shorten recovery times, will bury 660 miles of tap lines between them. The State…
-
Nuclear Fortress
How safe are Virginia’s nuclear power plants from terrorists, hackers and natural disasters? Let’s put it this way: Dominion worries about such threats 24/7 so you don’t have to. In addition to interfering in U.S. elections, Vladimir Putin’s busy cyber-servants have been probing information technology weaknesses in U.S. industry and infrastructure. Sophisticated cyber-attacks have been…
-
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
This will be one of those blog posts where many readers will ignore the substance of my arguments and go straight for the jugular — Dominion Energy Virginia sponsors this blog, I’m a shill for Dominion, and, therefore, anything and everything I say can be discounted without further thought. If you’re one of those people,…
-
No Real Pipeline Story Here, But Read on If You Must
The public relations battle over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline continues unabated even as managing partner Dominion Energy edges closer to beginning construction of the 600-mile project. The latest flap surfaced in the Richmond Times-Dispatch this morning after the State Corporation Commission agreed, over Dominion’s objections, to accept expert testimony by natural gas industry analyst Gregory Lander…
-
Grid Transformation Controversy Shifts to SCC Nominees
The legislative logjam over a controversial electric grid modernization program appears to have broken. The much-modified legislation, backed by Governor Ralph Northam and Virginia investor-owned electric utilities, has passed the House of Delegates and state Senate, and in the estimation of Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Robert Zullo, “could be headed to … Northam’s desk by the end of…
-
Economic Development Requires Grid Transformation
by Todd P. Haymore Building a more diversified economy and regaining Virginia’s status as best for business were the overarching goals during my time as Secretary of Commerce & Trade under Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration. Working in partnership with hundreds of companies, the General Assembly, regional entities, and colleagues in federal, state, and local governments,…