Will Virginians Vote for Energy Liberty or Democrats' Green New Deal Tyranny?

Guest Post from Kevin Mooney via CFact.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Republican incumbent in Virginia, warns that the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) will drastically raise utility rates due to its overreliance on “green energy.” Unless the Virginia General Assembly steps in to lighten the regulatory load in the energy sector, an “impending train wreck” in the form of rising utility bills will remain in motion, according to a statement from the commonwealth’s energy director.

Youngkin points to the VCEA—enacted under his predecessor in 2020—as the primary culprit behind projected increases in utility bills. Known as the “Virginia Green New Deal,” the VCEA is laced with green energy mandates that are expected to become more costly in the absence of Youngkin’s veto pen.

The liberty of Virginians is again at stake, as Democrats try to push them into a Green New Deal that will steal their choices and raise their electric rates

The Virginia Power Grid Hangs in the Balance

But there’s still time for Virginia to cut a different path in line with Youngkin’s “all-of-the-above” approach to energy policy, which includes nuclear power. Glenn Davis, the Virginia Department of Energy director, points to the Commonwealth Fusion System’s (CFS) planned commercial fusion plant at the James River Industrial Park as a prime example of the kind of initiatives policymakers should pursue. The CFS plant is poised to become the first grid-scale commercial fusion power outfit of its kind anywhere in the world.

In an exclusive statement to Restoration News, Davis said:

Virginia is leading the way in energy innovation, especially nuclear, as the home to the world’s first commercial fusion reactor. This plant is just one piece of a much larger energy plan to meet the 6.5% growth in demand Virginia is expecting as we continue to see a soaring increase in jobs and investment. Fusion has been talked about for generations and now is becoming a reality, right here in Virginia, with not only a plant but also an innovation hub. Under Governor Youngkin’s leadership, Virginia has embraced all-American, all-of-the-above power and is front and center in an energy and power renaissance that will power the Commonwealth with safe, secure, reliable, and affordable energy for years to come. Unfortunately, while the Youngkin administration has been working arduously to give Virginians relief on their energy bills, the Virginia Clean Economy Act is about to cause utility bills to skyrocket, with a projected compliance cost exceeding $5 billion over the next ten years, beginning with bill increases this September. For four years, Governor Youngkin has warned of this impending train wreck, but General Assembly Democrats have refused to address it.

The outcome of this year’s gubernatorial race will likely determine the trajectory of energy costs for Virginia residents. That’s because Abigail Spanberger has a history of supporting Green New Deal-type policies—that was evident during her time in Congress. Her voting record shows she supported extending a moratorium on drilling off Virginia’s coast. Spanberger also voted against prohibiting bans on gas stoves and gas-powered cars, and she opposed ordering the government to issue all federal permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which runs through Virginia.

As the Democratic candidate for governor, Spanberger has also expressed support for having Virginia rejoin a carbon tax scheme known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. By contrast, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, her Republican opponent, supported Youngkin’s decision to withdraw from RGGI. Earle-Sears is also running on a platform of lowering living costs.

Stephen D. Haner, a senior fellow for environment and energy policy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, expects an almost 50% increase for Virginia ratepayers within the next two years. Haner bases this forecast on an analysis of the rate increase applications Dominion Energy—the Virginia public utility—submitted earlier this year to the State Corporation Commission, the regulatory authority overseeing utilities.

The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill was about $116 just before VCEA was implemented. Haner expects pending price increases to take this amount to about $170 in 2027, with VCEA compliance costs the biggest component of this increase.

From here, the news gets even worse as Haner envisions a scenario where Virginia experiences power blackouts. PJM, the regional trading entity, issued a statement in its “Summer Outlook 2025” document of particular concern to energy policy analysts. The current season marks the first time that available generation capacity may fall short of required reserves in an extreme planning scenario that would result in an all-time PJM peak load of more than 166,000 MW, according to the PJM statement. Put another way, the VCEA mandates on wind and solar could further strain a power grid that is already under stress.

Nuclear power could be part of the solution. Virginia already has the Surry Nuclear Power Station located in southeastern Virginia, on the south bank of the James River across from Jamestown, and the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.

Youngkin is set to leave office in January, since the Virginia governor is limited to just one consecutive term under state law. He has been a consistent opponent of the VCEA and is pursuing court action to keep Virginia out of RGGI.

With the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates continuing to refuse to take action, the approaching gubernatorial race could decide the fate of the power grid in Virginia.

This article originally appeared at Restoration News.

Kevin Mooney is the Senior Investigative Reporter at the Commonwealth Foundation’s free-market think tank and writes for several national publications.

#Virginia #Sears #Climate #ElectricityPrices #KevinMooney #CFact #Nuclear #VCEA #Youngkin #RGGI #Democrats

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