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 the many issues not directly mentioned, such as the Virginia Clean Economy Act and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative carbon tax.

The news release on the process is here.  The text below is from that release:

Because energy touches every part of state government, the 2026 VEP is being developed in coordination with secretariats across the administration:

•  Agriculture and Forestry will elevate the voices of farmers, forest landowners, and rural communities, ensuring the plan reflects rural energy needs and the opportunities of land use and bioenergy.
• The Department of Health and Human Resources will bring a focus on affordability and public health, ensuring the plan supports home energy security for low-income and vulnerable Virginians.
• The Department of Environmental Quality will bring expertise on air and water quality and environmental justice, ensuring the plan accounts for the health and pollution burdens that energy infrastructure can place on overburdened communities.
• The Department of Natural and Historic Resources will bring expertise on environmental quality, conservation, and resilience, ensuring the plan weighs the protection of land, water, and cultural and historic resources as new energy infrastructure is sited and built.
• The Department of Transportation will bring perspective on how Virginians and goods move, ensuring the plan accounts for transportation energy, electrification, and the fueling and charging infrastructure the Commonwealth’s economy depends on.

Illuminating, aren’t they?  The survey itself does not tilt as badly as it might have.  The list of affordability challenges is light on what is really causing prices to rise, but you can write in your ideas.

The only question that really raised my hackles sought input on “which regions or groups, if any, do you believe should receive particular attention.”  Funny how the average middle class residential customer just didn’t make the list, but is anyone surprised? The divisive mindset infects the bullet points listed above. Everybody and every industry have an equal right to reliable energy and fair and reasonable rates. 

Again, here is the link to the form. 

— SDH