RGGI Is Simply Another Corporatist Corruption of the Grid As the Virginia Court Case Shows Us

Most of our readers here at Energy Security and Freedom are, no doubt, aware of the ongoing effort in the Commonwealth of Virginia to rid its electricity consumers of the RGGI steal. Governor Glenn Youngkin has, since being elected, been working tirelessly to get the Old Dominion out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. It’s been a political roller coaster.

RGGI Roller Coaster

The latest is that a county judge has ruled against the Governor’s initiative, saying that only an act of Virginia’s General Assembly could pull the state out of the program. It’s got a fair amount of press, but it’s hardly the end of the debate his decision will be appealed and the judge’s rationale is questionable to say the least.

What caught my attention on the subject, though, was some information from an article in Bacon’s Rebellion. The story provides plenty of background that is most useful, but here are some excerpts showing what this battle is really about (emphasis added):

The judge has stated that the vote to repeal was void, illegal, without effect. That means it was illegal for the state not to force its electricity generators to buy and expend RGGI credits for this year. He asked lawyers for the plaintiffs in the case to draft the final order that outlines what happens next. In theory, that could include imposition and collection of those lost 2024 tax revenues, probably about $400-500 million.

Why not? The case was brought by a group of energy conservation contractors who were being paid to renovate homes for energy efficiency. They argued (correctly) that the decision to exit RGGI ended their meal ticket and would reduce their activity and revenue. Loss of money is the damage they suffered, and money is a logical part of any relief. That RGGI was hardly the only source of revenue for their programs didn’t seem to matter.

The judge just ruled they were illegally deprived of that money. On the other side of the RGGI ledger, localities and contractors doing work to prevent or mitigate flooding also lost work and money. They got the other half of the RGGI tax dollars collected between 2021 and 2023. While they did not join the case, if financial reparations are ordered, they will get in line.

RGGI’s agreement between the states runs on a three-year cycle, and Virginia missed the start of the 2024-2026 contract period. The other RGGI states will have a say in whether, when and under what conditions Virginia rejoins the confederation. Virginia getting back in will also have an impact on the price of allowances, the carbon tax.

As reported by Bacon’s Rebellion before, in the months since Virginia exited the compact, the price for each ton of carbon emissions has risen dramatically. A new record could be set at the final 2024 auction in early December.

In 2023 Dominion was charging each of its customers, residential and business, the same $4.43 per 1,000 kilowatt hours. A good guess would be that had the tax stayed on bills for 2024, it would have risen to at least $5 or more per 1,000 kwh for this year. Dominion puts that 1000 kwh amount forward as a “typical” bill but many, many of its residential customers use far more than that per month, and thus would see far more than a $5-6 increase in their power bills. Often those large bills accrue to fairly small, but poorly insulated, dwellings with lousy heating systems.

RGGI in Virginia, in other words, was about extracting money from electricity consumers and funneling it to “energy conservation contractors,” using utilities as the collection agencies. Flood mitigation contractors also benefited, of course, but the lawsuit was brought by the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals who argued they were deprived of 50% of the loot Virginia would have received via RGGI.

The Association is described in the judge’s initial opinion as follows:

Petitioner is an association of weatherization professionals whose mission is to provide, promote, and advocate for energy conservation measures on behalf of its members. Petitioner was originally established in 1995 to implement energy saving measures in low-income households pursuant to the federally funded Weatherization Assistance Program. Following the passage of the RGGI Act, Petitioner has worked to implement the Weatherization Deferral Repair program. This program is the sole source of funding for Petitioner and has allowed its members to support over fifty staff positions, seventeen of which were added directly as a result of funding from RGGI.

Could the corporatism be any more evident? No. RGGI isn't about saving the planet and the Association isn't about energy conservation. Both are about politicians pulling money out of consumers’ pockets to put in the pockets of corporatists.

#RGGI #Corporists #Climate #EnergyConservation #Weatherization #Virginia #Youngkin