Category: Regulations, Gov’t Oversight
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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…
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Battery Bills Still Charging Toward Passage
By Steve Haner The Virginia General Assembly is still poised to pass a vastly expanded mandate for future utility battery storage systems, but the bills are no longer passing unanimously. At least some discussion of the ratepayer cost impact has come up in committee and floor discussions since being raised by Bacon’s Rebellion. Most Republicans…
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Trump’s Interior Dept. Asked to Stop Dominion Wind Construction
By Steve Haner Citizens and groups who opposed the push to develop offshore wind under former President Joe Biden have now asked President Donald Trump to rescind even the wind projects already under construction. Dominion Energy Virginia’s $10.7 billion project off Virginia Beach is among those they want to pause and possibly cancel. The…
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Staffing in Selected Nursing Homes in Virginia – a Graphic Comparison
by James C. Sherlock The featured graphic above and here is my attempt to produce an infographic without cartographer skills. It integrates a lot of information from different sources and internal calculations in an effort to show both: how nursing home staffing in Virginia varies; and how it has or has not complied with…
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Interest-Rate Cap on Loans: Beware the Unintended Consequences
by James A. Bacon A bill capping financial loans to a maximum of 12% interest passed the state Senate Monday. If enacted into law, Virginia would go from having one of the most permissive caps among the 50 states to perhaps the most stringent. The measure could have a debilitating effect on lending to people…
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A Rosetta Stone for Nursing Facility Articles
by James C. Sherlock I will continue to pursue the public health crisis that is Virginia’s worst nursing homes. I am quite aware that my articles on that subject are sometimes difficult to follow because I provide so much detail and data. I am attempting to make a case to Virginia officials to act…
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Making VCEA Even More Expensive and Onerous
By Steve Haner The 2024 General Assembly ended with a promise from its majority Democrats to review and perhaps revise the 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA), which mandates the end of hydrocarbon electricity. The revisions are now pending at the 2025 General Assembly and are uniformly bad. One positive development this session has been an…
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Dominion Sells Solar Power at a Loss Just to Earn the RECs
By Steve Haner To avoid the financial penalties included in the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Dominion Energy Virginia has sometimes sold solar energy at a loss to earn the related renewable energy credit. It has been paying the regional PJM wholesale energy market to accept the electrons, rather than PJM paying it for the power. …
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Political Polarization and Data Centers
by James A. Bacon The Town Council of Warrenton has big regrets after issuing a special-use permit allowing Amazon to build a data center in the town. Council finds itself embroiled in litigation from a citizen lawsuit to block the Amazon project as well as a FOIA request to release thousands of emails and documents,…
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Bacon Bits: The Irresistible Impulse to Regulate
If it moves, regulate it… Democrats and civil libertarians are gearing up to restrict the use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) by law enforcement. A bill submitted by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, would restrict police use of the readers to specific instances such as missing person cases, outstanding warrants, human trafficking or…
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Yes, Deficiency Payments May Happen, Dominion Reports to SCC
By Steve Haner Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) in his State of the Commonwealth Address last week described the Virginia Clean Economy Act as a “quagmire.” Later that same day, the director of his Department of Energy warned that the state’s premier electric utility might soon begin making “deficiency payments,” in effect paying fines for failing…
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Legislators Kill Bill to Modify Certificate of Public Need
by Hans Bader Legislators in a subcommittee killed a bill in the Virginia legislature would reform the state’s obsolete and costly certificate-of-need laws, which require state permission for healthcare facilities even in badly underserved areas. Cardinal News reports: Legislation put forth by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, to reduce regulations in accessing machinery, equipment…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part One
by James C. Sherlock On 29 October of 2024 a woman died under tragic circumstances in Virginia. Her death was preceded by suffering that mercifully we cannot fully imagine. The government alleges that she died as a result of neglect at Innovative Healthcare Management’s (IHM) Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (CHRNC) in Chesterfield County.…
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VanValkenburg Tackles Affordable Housing
by James A. Bacon Broadly speaking, there are two types of strategies for making housing more affordable: demand-side strategies and supply-side strategies. The demand-side approach makes it easier for people to buy houses — lower down-payments, interest-rate subsidies, outright grants. Such tactics might help the lucky individual households that qualify, but only by allowing Homeowner…
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Poll Shows Partisan Divide on Natural Gas, Solar Site Approvals
By Steve Haner Virginia registered voters are strongly in favor of allowing utilities to build new natural gas generation plants, a key issue facing Virginia because current state law mandates the complete elimination of that fuel source for electricity generation in 15 years. On another key energy issue likely to face the 2025 General…