Several weeks ago, I was shocked to read a story in the TD that Dominion, Virginia’s dominant electric monopoly, was suing several land owners as a result of their refusal to allow a survey team to access their land to measure for a potential pipeline that Dominion and several other firms want to build. The land is privately held, i.e. not in the public domain, private property and privacy are essential elements of a democratic and capitalistic society. I was later informed that 10 years ago, the Virginia legislature in effect granted the right of eminent domain to Dominion, a private corporation. Conceptually, eminent domain is used by governments to obtain property for public use such as schools, highways, and hospitals. This is a prime example of anti-capitalist behavior on the part of Dominion and all of those “capitalists” in the General Assembly.
Today, the TD reports that the electricity monopoly is playing accounting games with the legislature in an attempt to pass on inflated costs to its customers as it closes older power plants. Companies depreciate capital investments over a number of years. Dominion failed to mention the original costs of these plants and that the charges that they have taken to their profits as legitimate depreciation. The present book value can not be the same as replacement costs. These costs are amortized over many years.
Perhaps Dominion should take the approach utilized by Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs to justify taking part in the huge A.I.G. bailout. Lloyd said: “We do God’s work.” Vladimir Putin could not have said it better.
— Les Schreiber
