Author: Steve Haner
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Virginia’s #3 for Business Rank Argues for Stability, Not Change
by Derrick A. Max Key Takeaways: Key Quote: “Virginia’s No. 3 ranking is a credit to the Commonwealth’s inherited strengths, not a blank check for Richmond to tax more, mandate more, and make it harder to do business here.” Virginia’s climb in CNBC’s newest “Top States for Business” ranking — moving from No. 4 back to…
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PJM Probably Reached Record Demand Thursday
by Steve Haner A proprietary energy industry newsletter shared with Bacon’s Rebellion reports that the PJM Interconnection regional electricity grid probably set a summer record for demand on Thursday, July 2. The old peak of 165,563 megawatts in the 13-state region was seen in 2006. The system maintained its service by activating demand reduction programs forcing…
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No, Virginia, Heat Waves are Not More Common
A bit of hard data as the Virginia and national media go into hysterics over a very typical Virginia heat wave and repeat endlessly the claim that this is becoming more frequent. Uh, no, no it’s not. From the CO2 Coalition’s recent updated compilation on “climate stability” in Virginia, worth reading and sharing. While you…
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Spanberger, Assembly Pass on Meddling With Dominion Sale
by Steve Haner The most important energy outcome of recent legislative wrestling over Virginia’s energy-focused state budget is what it didn’t include. Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) and the legislators did not meddle with the plan for Florida’s NextEra Energy to acquire Dominion Energy. The application for that transaction (it is not a merger, but…
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Thanks to Heat Wave, RGGI Will Bite Fast and Hard
by Steve Haner There is some irony in how Virginia will reenter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme on Wednesday just as a long and deep heatwave begins. It is safe to predict that every RGGI-covered coal and natural gas generation plant in the state will be running full tilt until next…
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Coop Customers (But Not NOVEC) May Now Get RGGI Rebates
by Steve Haner Governor Abigail Spanberger’s proposed amendment to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative rebate system will give most but not all residential customers of Virginia’s rural electric cooperatives a shot at some cash back. The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative is still in the RGGI wilderness. The feeding frenzy over the RGGI carbon tax dollars,…
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Assembly To Data Centers: “Here’s Your Hat, There’s the Door”
by Steve Haner The energy regulatory provisions buried in the final conference report on Virginia’s 2026-2028 budget, approved by the General Assembly Monday, are as complex and detailed as any of the energy bills reviewed earlier during the regular session. They are also just as damaging. The data center industry was a particular target. The…
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RGGI Rebates for Some Ordered in New Budget Language
The pending conference report on adopting a new Virginia state budget includes a process to rebate the cost of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s carbon tax, but only to smaller customers and only if their utility is charging them for it directly. Larger energy users, especially the largest industrial, commercial and data customers, will still…
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Data Centers Will Pay Same Tax on Solar Power as on Coal
by Steve Haner The new energy tax being imposed on Virginia’s data center industry effective July 1, assuming the new state budget conference report passes next week, is totally ecumenical. The same tax is imposed on electrons from a solar panel or wind turbine as is imposed on electrons from coal. A data center that…
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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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Spanberger Administration Wants Your Energy Input
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…
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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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Virginia’s Deceptive Gas Tax Continues to Confuse, Rises Again
By Steve Haner, Virginia’s gasoline taxes rise again on July 1, a continuing legacy of former Governor Ralph Northam’s most taxing term. He signed the 2020 bill calling for annual gas tax adjustments for inflation, so the combined taxes will rise from 41.6 cents per gallon to 42.4 cents per gallon. It was a bipartisan…
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RGGI Will Cost Typical Dominion Customer $13 More Per Month
By Steve Haner, Dominion Energy Virginia is proposing to delay until March 2027 to bill its customers for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon allowances it must buy starting July 1. When the cost hits, however, it could be $13 a month or $156 per year for a typical residential customer. The final decision…