Author: Steve Haner
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Virginia: a True BANANA Republic Now?
Below is a selection of headlines from today’s Virginia Public Access Project state news compilation, which really could be replicated on many days now. What a change in the state’s economic (and media) climate. This will not end well. Warner proposes link of data center tax break to environment State senator opposed to data center tax break…
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Not Corruption, Just Raw Political Power
by Steve Haner I have been charged with defaming a great Virginia company and major employer. One of my regular readers high up in Dominion Energy Virginia, someone often complimentary of my efforts, called yesterday to push back on any implication from me that the company is corrupt or engages in corrupt practices. The basic…
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Dominion Sale is Warning Siren for Virginia’s Weak Ethics Laws
by Steve Haner Let me get this straight. A main argument against letting Florida-based NextEra Energy buy Virginia-based Dominion Energy is that the giant and rich new company might be so politically powerful that it will corrupt Virginia’s governance processes. That was the big argument from this fellow on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website. Shall I tell him…
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The Rest of the Story on the Dominion Fuel Price Hike
by Steve Haner The stories making the round last week about Dominion Energy’s bill increase for fuel were blatantly incomplete, as were Dominion’s communications on the matter. Here is what the utility and the well-tamed Virginia “news” media have not told you. The $8 per month reported as the impact on a typical residential customer…
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Virginia’s #3 for Business Rank Argues for Stability, Not Change
by Derrick A. Max Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “Virginia’s No. 3 ranking is a credit to the Commonwealth’s inherited strengths, not a blank check for Richmond to tax more, mandate more, and make it harder to do business here.” Virginia’s climb in CNBC’s newest “Top States for Business” ranking — moving from No. 4 back to…
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PJM Probably Reached Record Demand Thursday
by Steve Haner A proprietary energy industry newsletter shared with Bacon’s Rebellion reports that the PJM Interconnection regional electricity grid probably set a summer record for demand on Thursday, July 2. The old peak of 165,563 megawatts in the 13-state region was seen in 2006. The system maintained its service by activating demand reduction programs forcing…
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No, Virginia, Heat Waves are Not More Common
A bit of hard data as the Virginia and national media go into hysterics over a very typical Virginia heat wave and repeat endlessly the claim that this is becoming more frequent. Uh, no, no it’s not. From the CO2 Coalition’s recent updated compilation on “climate stability” in Virginia, worth reading and sharing. While you…
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Spanberger, Assembly Pass on Meddling With Dominion Sale
by Steve Haner The most important energy outcome of recent legislative wrestling over Virginia’s energy-focused state budget is what it didn’t include. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) and the legislators did not meddle with the plan for Florida’s NextEra Energy to acquire Dominion Energy. The application for that transaction (it is not a merger, but…
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Thanks to Heat Wave, RGGI Will Bite Fast and Hard
by Steve Haner There is some irony in how Virginia will reenter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme on Wednesday just as a long and deep heatwave begins. It is safe to predict that every RGGI-covered coal and natural gas generation plant in the state will be running full tilt until next…
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Coop Customers (But Not NOVEC) May Now Get RGGI Rebates
by Steve Haner Governor Abigail Spanberger’s proposed amendment to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative rebate system will give most but not all residential customers of Virginia’s rural electric cooperatives a shot at some cash back. The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative is still in the RGGI wilderness. The feeding frenzy over the RGGI carbon tax dollars,…
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Assembly To Data Centers: “Here’s Your Hat, There’s the Door”
by Steve Haner The energy regulatory provisions buried in the final conference report on Virginia’s 2026-2028 budget, approved by the General Assembly Monday, are as complex and detailed as any of the energy bills reviewed earlier during the regular session. They are also just as damaging. The data center industry was a particular target. The…
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RGGI Rebates for Some Ordered in New Budget Language
The pending conference report on adopting a new Virginia state budget includes a process to rebate the cost of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s carbon tax, but only to smaller customers and only if their utility is charging them for it directly. Larger energy users, especially the largest industrial, commercial and data customers, will still…
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Data Centers Will Pay Same Tax on Solar Power as on Coal
by Steve Haner The new energy tax being imposed on Virginia’s data center industry effective July 1, assuming the new state budget conference report passes next week, is totally ecumenical. The same tax is imposed on electrons from a solar panel or wind turbine as is imposed on electrons from coal. A data center that…
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Spanberger Retreats on Weed Market to Get Budget
by Derrick A. Max Governor Abigail Spanberger announced her support for a deal to create a legal retail cannabis market in Virginia — only weeks after vetoing a bill to do much the same thing. That should give Virginians pause. Virginia has yet to pass a budget and is only two weeks from a government shutdown. While…
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Spanberger Administration Wants Your Energy Input
The Spanberger Administration is preparing to draft the state energy policy required by law and has created a public survey form to seek your individual or corporate input. You will find the survey form here. It is five pages, with not a lot of depth, but there are plenty of open panels to provide comments on…