Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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Virginia’s Return to RGGI: Another Ratepayer Rip-Off in the Making
Governor Spanberger just made every Virginian’s household more expensive. by Jeff Reynolds Virginia has jumped back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and residential ratepayers will feel the pain—again. The last time the state was in the program, under the last Democratic governor, it cost Virginians more than $600 million over three years. Every…
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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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Why NextEra Wants to Buy Dominion, What it Gets
by Steve Haner Dominion Energy Virginia and NextEra Energy are expected to file the necessary Virginia application for the sale of Dominion to the Florida company soon, probably in early July. Under present Virginia law, the State Corporation Commission will have six months to say yea or nay. Readers should first understand this is an…
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Rebating Spanberger’s RGGI Tax Won’t Erase RGGI’s Cost Impact
by Steve Haner Virginia’s return to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will produce such an explosion of new tax revenue and will cause such major increases in consumer electricity costs, a political feeding frenzy is beginning to erupt over the money. A legislative study panel heavily controlled by Democrats who voted for Virginia’s return to RGGI…
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Gas Plant Approval’s Appeal Tests VCEA, Environmental Justice Law
by Steve Haner The ongoing fight over the future of natural gas power generation in Virginia has now moved to the Virginia Supreme Court, with environmental activists asking that court to reverse the State Corporation Commission’s (SCC) decision from six months ago approving a new gas project in Chesterfield County. The National Association for…
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A Rising Democratic Star Disappoints Teachers’ Unions in Virginia
by Kevin Mahnken, The 74 Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed an expansion of collective bargaining rights last week. Her allies in the labor movement weren’t pleased. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s rejection of a new law expanding collective bargaining rights for teachers has led to a division in the state’s Democratic coalition. It also generated discontent…
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Will Dominion Sale Solve Virginia’s Growing Energy Challenges?
by Steve Haner Assuming Dominion Energy Virginia is indeed absorbed into an expanded NextEra Energy, the more things change the more they may stay the same. The average consumer might see no real difference in their service or their cost. This step was probably inevitable. Credit (or blame) the massive electricity demand growth facing Virginia,…
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Assembly and Spanberger Made Zero Progress on Virginia Energy Challenges
by Steve Haner In advance of the 2025 election, the Jefferson Forum outlined in this June commentary the energy challenges facing Virginia. New Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) and the General Assembly have now concluded work on the 2026 energy legislation and Virginia has made zero progress – and may be losing ground. Ignore the political posturing coming…
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Government Oversight of the Integrity of Healthcare Programs in Virginia – Part 1
by James C. Sherlock This author’s unbroken experience over many years has been that majorities in the General Assembly have sought to protect the healthcare industry from competition (COPN) and leave it alone to operate as it sees fit. They have not wanted oversight because many of their largest donors and most influential constituents in…
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The Source of All Evil: Data Centers!
Jefferson Forum’s President Derrick Max puts out a Sunday morning summary that only some of you probably see, and I cannot really link to it for you. But today’s email had a useful and entertaining riff on the ongoing efforts to demonize Virginia’s data center industry, a clearly coordinated hit job from the left and…
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With Virginia Back In, RGGI Futures Price Tops $41 Per Ton
by Steve Haner Virginia’s impending return to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has driven up the price for carbon credits in the multistate cap-and-trade system’s secondary market. The futures price exceeded $41 per ton this morning, far above the roughly $25 per ton that utilities had to pay in the March 2026 auction. It reflects…
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Another SCC Warning That VCEA Will Fail and Cost a Fortune
by Steve Haner The Virginia State Corporation Commission, consisting of three judges all picked by the General Assembly while Democrats were in control, has delivered another stern warning that the Virginia Clean Economy Act is unworkable and will greatly increase electricity costs within Virginia as it reaches failure. Despite the concerns expressed in its 21-page…
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Spanberger’s Rewrite of Energy Bill Challenges Assembly, Dominion
by Steve Haner Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) has proposed that the General Assembly return to the misguided practice of dictating by law a utility profit margin, overturning a bipartisan reform approved just three years ago. It is no different than her effort to end the bipartisan reforms against political gerrymandering and again put politicians in…
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Spanberger Pushing for July Return to RGGI and Its Carbon Tax
by Steve Haner The Abigail Spanberger Administration has told an energy industry publication that it plans to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative by July, in time to participate in the September and December 2026 carbon dioxide allowance auctions. Because of the accelerated timetable, the Department of Environmental Quality will not publish a draft regulation…
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Independent Gas Generator Faces State Permitting Gauntlet
by Steve Haner The 1540-megawatt natural gas generation unit approved last week by the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors has already been identified by the regional PJM Interconnection electricity grid operator as a key reliability asset. The Expedition Generation Station is proposed by independent power producer Tenaska, which already has the 940-megawatt Virginia Generation Station…