Category: Business and Economy
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Restore the Battle Streamers
by Donald Smith Summertime in Washington, D.C., is NDAA Time. NDAA, as in the National Defense Authorization Act. The federal government dispensed with proper budget procedures a long time ago. Everything it does is now funded by continuing resolutions, omnibus bills, or other confounding mechanisms. The NDAA, though, always passes because it funds the Defense Department. Hence, crafty…
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$104 Billion for Batteries in 5 years, $40K Per Customer
By David Wojick, The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) mandates that Dominion Energy Virginia, the state’s major electric utility, rapidly shift its power generation to wind and solar. Dominion’s latest Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) provides dramatic evidence that this shift does not work, making blackouts inevitable. Making it work would be fantastically expensive with the…
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Backup Generation Within PJM Earns Another Stunning Price
by Steve Haner The regional electricity marketplace that serves Virginia, PJM Interconnection, was shocked (pardon the pun) by last year’s high price auction to secure future excess generation capacity, needed for days of tight supply. In response, several changes were made to the process to lower the price faced by the member utilities and their…
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Tech Van Winkle Awakes
Northern Virginia’s business community rises from its slumber to address challenges of the AI revolution. by James A. Bacon Like the legendary Rip Van Winkle who fell asleep for 20 years and woke up to a whole new world, Northern Virginia’s business community has emerged from its lengthy snooze to realize that it needs to…
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Only Some Job Losses Trigger Media and Political Outrage
By Paul Driessen When Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently laid off 1,350 employees as part of a broader restructuring effort, the media response was swift and emotional. Stories of tearful farewells, union outrage, and dramatic claims of “fascism” filled the airwaves. One would think these federal employees had lifetime appointments and that accountability or…
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Another Week of Misleading Media to Scare Americans on Climate
A Critic Answered, a Narrative Destroyed By Steve Haner The propensity of American news outlets to spread outright falsehoods about extreme weather and the claimed (but easily refuted) link to “climate change” has been on full display this week. Any observant person who spends even a day driving in the Texas Hill Country can see…
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This Week Showed Again Wind and Solar Don’t Beat the Heat
By Steve Haner Once again, a spell of hot weather has proven that our economy and comfort depend on hydrocarbon fuels. As you can see from these simple pie graphs from the PJM regional energy market, two-thirds of the electricity sustaining Virginia on a recent hot afternoon was produced by natural gas, oil and coal. …
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NC Assembly Repeals a Key Carbon Emissions Goal
By Steve Haner The North Carolina legislature has retreated from its aggressive targets to reduced hydrocarbon-fueled electricity in the state, eliminating the goal of being 70% carbon free by 2030. Strong Republican majorities in both chambers supported Senate Bill 266 last week, but so did some Democratic legislators. That smattering of Democratic support could weigh…
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Trump Backs Off from Deporting Some Undocumented Immigrants
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Immigrants who work in certain sectors of Virginia’s economy, and their employers, can rest a little easier now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration has ordered immigration agents to cease their sweep operations at agriculture and hospitality industry worksites. On June 12, a senior ICE official sent an e-mail…
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More Eye-Popping Late Donations from Dominion, Clean Virginia
By Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia has contributed another $1 million plus to Virginia state-level politicians in large, late pre-primary donations, with the largest amounts given to Shannon Taylor’s run for Attorney General and Levar Stoney’s campaign for lieutenant governor. This close to the vote, state law requires rapid reporting on late large checks. According…
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Pennsylvania Joining RGGI is All Cost, No Benefit: PJM
By Steve Haner A Republican leader in the Pennsylvania legislature asked the regional electricity market PJM Interconnect what would happen if that state joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. PJM reported it would raise consumer costs but have next to no impact on carbon dioxide emissions. The report, dated April 25 but just shared with Bacon’s…
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The Energy Policy Minefield Facing a New Virginia Governor
By Steve Haner When the smoke clears on the November elections and Virginia has a new governor and a different House of Delegates, energy policy will still head the list of crucial issues. It is in the state’s best interest to highlight those issues during what’s left of the campaign season and force candidates to state…
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PIPP Electricity Subsidies Finally Flowing
By Steve Haner The subsidy program to help low-income customers of Dominion Energy Virginia with their bills, funded by involuntary contributions from all the other customers, is beginning to show signs of growth. It is called the Percentage of Income Payment Program, or PIPP. In its most recent filing on the program with the State…
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New Maryland Law Open to More Gas Electricity
By Steve Haner Democrats who run Maryland have passed major energy legislation calling for expanded electricity generation in the state, including potential fast track approvals of new natural gas plants. They are considered “dispatchable energy generation” under the new law’s definitions, and more than 3 gigawatts of new dispatchable generation is called for. Maryland’s 2025 session…
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Warned Again of Energy Shortfalls, Democrats Again Pretend to Care
By Steve Haner Here we go again. As the 2025 election year heats up and warnings rise about electricity shortfalls this summer, the legislators behind Virginia’s coming ban on hydrocarbon electricity are pretending they see the problem. A May 22 headline out of a recent legislative meeting on energy claimed that “Democratic leadership signals willingness…