Category: Energy
-
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…
-
As Governor, Spanberger Would Impose Carbon Taxes
Skyrocketing “cap and trade” costs could be added to existing green energy mandates. by Kevin Mooney Virginia voters, taxpayers, and ratepayers should know that if Abigail Spanberger becomes their next governor, they will pay higher energy costs that will show up on their utility bills and everyday purchases. Spanberger made that clear during a podcast last year…
-
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…
-
Solar Advocacy Argument One-Sided, Short-Sighted
By Steve Haner I don’t often dispute with my former colleague Dwayne Yancey, now running Cardinal News, but his short-sighted and one-sided column this morning on the changing tax environment for solar panel manufacturers demands an answer. Yes, certain solar-specific tax expense subsidies are set to expire in the House-passed version of the new federal…
-
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…
-
Virginia’s Offshore Wind Could Face Federal Headwinds
by Kerry Dougherty Listen carefully, Virginia. That sound you hear is hyperventilation from the headquarters of Dominion Power in Richmond after they saw Monday’s post on X from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Brass at the politically savvy energy company that provides power to 3.6 million Virginia homes were already moaning about the increased costs that…
-
Youngkin Vetoes More Energy Bills, Again Criticizes Clean Economy Act
By Steve Haner, With one exception, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has now vetoed the contested energy bills that he sought to amend at the 2025 General Assembly’s reconvened session last month. The rejection of his amendments or substitutes gave him a final opportunity for a full veto of the legislation. Friday night was his deadline…
-
Bacon Bits: Narrative Busters
Selecting the facts that fit the narrative. George Mason University business school professor Brad N. Greenwood was the lead author of an academic article arguing that Black newborn babies are three times more likely to die if cared by for White doctors than Black doctors. Mainstream media jumped on the findings of systemic racial bias…
-
Taking a Knife to the Democrats’ Green Energy Dream
By Steve Haner Wielding irony like a razor-sharp butcher’s knife, Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) has proposed a series of amendments on bills intended to mandate renewable energy that basically reverse the impact and do just the opposite. One amendment would even repeal the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), which is central to Virginia Democratic…
-
Dominion’s IRP Becoming Moot as Federal Rules Pivot
by Steve Haner The expanded use of natural gas as a fuel for electricity is the key debate in Dominion Energy Virginia’s integrated resource plan pending before the State Corporation Commission. Not waiting for the decision in that case to come later this year, the utility has now filed an application to start building the…
-
A Good Week for FERC and America’s Energy Reliability
by Steve Haner The new chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission used the Trump Administration’s order to have agency employees report their activities as a chance to show off. Late last week the chairman issued a four-page letter of accomplishments on behalf of his staff, a list that might be a good month, not…
-
Time to Come Clean on Clean Economy Act Costs to Customers
By Steve Haner Until October of last year, customers of Dominion Energy Virginia could see at least some of the higher costs created by the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) detailed on their electric bills. Look at the recent bill and all that transparency is gone and the VCEA costs are now hidden. Compliance with the…
-
Data Centers Escape Assembly Session Unscathed
By Steve Haner Despite great public angst and political theater, the data center industry has emerged from the 2025 General Assembly unscathed. Virginians will continue to compete with Internet and cloud customers from all over the country and the world for electricity, as the data centers continue to proliferate here. One bill dealing with the…
-
Key Energy Issues of Customer Cost, Reliability Often Ignored
By Steve Haner The Virginia General Assembly has approved a long list of bills to reinforce its previous commitment to ending the use of hydrocarbon fuel in Virginia. It ignored warnings that natural gas is essential for energy security from the regional electricity marketplace, the Virginian who now chairs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and…
-
Biting the Steady Hand That Lights Your House
By Steve Haner Three western Virginia politicians have penned a press release masquerading as a serious proposal. They seek to decertify a major monopoly electric utility which serves 540,000 Virginia accounts, the Appalachian Power Company, a division of American Electric Power. The letter was sent to the State Corporation Commission and then released, with…