Tag: Dominion
-
Wall Street’s Perspective on Virginia Rate Re-regulation
What follows is a letter from former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to members of the House of Delegates two days ago. His discussion of the Wall Street perspective on electric rate regulation adds a new element to the debate, so I publish the letter here with his permission. — JAB Dear Delegates, One of the…
-
How Is the New Double Dip any Different from the Old Double Dip?
The House of Delegates passed its own version of electric-utility regulatory reform yesterday. The big news is that the House amended the legislative compromise struck between Governor Ralph Northam, the electric utilities, and other key stakeholders to ensure that it prevents the dreaded “double dip.” Reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch: The Virginia Attorney General’s Office and…
-
Is Training a Better Investment than Education?
In his book, ‘The Case against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money,” George Mason University professor Bryan Caplan argues, as the title of his book suggests, that much of secondary school and some 80% of time and expense dedicated to earning a college degree is wasted. Most of the…
-
Insufferable Self-Righteousness
Michael Bills, a former Goldman Sachs executive and chief investment officer of the University of Virginia, is so outraged by what he calls the “legalized corruption” of Dominion Energy’s outsized campaign contributions that he says he’ll donate thousands of dollars to legislators who pledge not to accept money from the power company and to divest…
-
Peeling Back Another Layer of the Grid Modernization Debate
A critical point has gone missing in the debate over the Grid Transformation and Improvement Act: the effect of regulatory changes on the ability of Virginia’s electric utilities to borrow money. Electric utilities like Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power Co. are highly leveraged; that is, a high percentage of their capital base consists of…
-
Will Grid Transformation Allow Utility Double Dipping?
Dominion says the Grid Transformation Act will provide stable electric rates and a clean, reliable grid. Foes fear that the legislation will rip off customers and fatten utility profits. As the Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018 wends its way through the General Assembly, lawmakers and lobbyists are focusing on a key question: Will…
-
Compromise Bill Ending the Rate Freeze Advances In Senate
How good is the electric-regulation compromise worked out between the governor’s office, electric utilities, consumers, and other interest groups? It’s so good, Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, said today that the average homeowner will see electric rates locked in at 2009 levels “for a long time,” even as Virginia invests heavily in solar power, wind…
-
Tinkering with the Electricity Regulation Bill
In yesterday’s fast-moving action in the General Assembly, bills to end the electricity rate freeze underwent several important changes. I have done no original reporting here. I’m just extracting key details from Robert Zullo’s article in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch. A substitute bill submitted by Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott: Increases one-time rebates to Dominion Virginia Energy…
-
Bills Would Prevent Ratepayer Refunds for Six Years, SCC Says
Proposals to overhaul Virginia’s system for regulating electric rates would provide no opportunity for the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to order refunds to rate payers until 2024 for Appalachian Power Company and 2025 for Dominion Energy Virginia, concludes a State Corporation Commission analysis of Senate Bills 966 and 967. The SCC conducted the analysis at…
-
The Logic Behind the Grid Transformation Act
After providing an overview of The Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018 yesterday, I had numerous questions about the thinking behind many of the measures it proposes. So I talked to Katharine Bond, a senior policy official for Dominion Energy to get the power company’s perspective. Dominion has been a key player in drafting the…
-
The Great Grid Grab
Who gets what from a Dominion-backed legislative package overhauling Virginia’s electric grid? At this point, there are more questions than answers. Last week lawmakers friendly to Dominion Energy Virginia introduced sweeping legislation, The Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018, which would increase investment in Virginia’s electric grid with the goals of increasing renewable energy,…
-
Dispatches from the Front
by Stephen D. Haner I promised you updates, dispatches from the front lines as the General Assembly once again deals with legislation proposed by our largest monopoly power company. It is my intention this game is played out in the open. Here is my version of Bacon Bits: (1) President Donald Trump and…
-
Dominion Closes Nine Obsolete Generating Units
As Dominion Energy Virginia continues to adapt its generating fleet to the realities of cheaper solar and abundant natural gas, the utility has decided to mothball nine of its older, less efficient power-generating units — all but one of them either coal-fired or converted from coal to gas. Because the units rarely run, they provide…
-
Tarheel Coal Ash Data Could Inform Virginia Debate
Last week I argued that Virginians need more information about the disposal costs and health risks associated with coal ash ponds before the General Assembly rushes ahead with a law requiring Virginia’s electric utilities to recycle and/or landfill their coal ash. Some of that data could come from the experience of Duke Energy in North…
-
Senate Committee Spikes Bill to End Electric Freeze, Promises Comprehensive Reform
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee today killed a bill championed by Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, that would have ended the freeze on base electric rates, restored State Corporation Commission (SCC) control over rate setting, and enabled the refund of hundreds of millions of dollars in electric utility profits to rate payers. Senate leaders said…