During Glenn Youngkin’s leadership as governor, he made it a key priority to rescind Virginia’s membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is an interstate compact including 10 other states – all in the northeast – that restricts the amount of carbon that electric utilities can emit by hosting auctions of “carbon emissions credits.” While it may indeed be a good idea to promote the reduction of carbon emissions into our atmosphere, RGGI arbitrarily makes energy production more expensive by acting as a “carbon tax” on generators of electricity. It is disappointing to see Virginia Democrats – led by Governor Abigail Spanberger – move to return Virginia back to RGGI when prices of goods and services are already sky-high.
It has been estimated that a return to RGGI could add as much as $13 per month to electric bills. Through RGGI, electric utilities can pass the costs associated with participation in the program to the consumer. So, while the utilities may not feel the financial impact of this move very much, your wallet certainly will. The Democrat supporters of this program contend that some of the proceeds of RGGI auctions go toward energy efficiency and climate change mitigation projects in communities of need, so it is a cost worth imposing on ratepayers. In all practicality, what it ends up being is an added tax and wealth redistribution without any sort of guarantee that communities of need will see the benefit of RGGI membership equally.
What is more – Virginia’s participation in RGGI does not even guarantee that our power is any more “clean.” The Commonwealth will still import electricity – perhaps even more so – from West Virginia and other states that do not have to abide by the strict standards that RGGI imposes on its members. A large percentage of Virginia’s electricity already comes from coal-fired power plants in West Virginia, so how does our membership in RGGI truly achieve the Democrats’ supposed goals of cleaner energy?
The return to RGGI – and perhaps other energy policies yet to be signed by Governor Spanberger now and into the future – will unfortunately undo much of the savings I worked hard for in passing the APCo Rate Reduction Act in 2025. Since the passage of my legislation, according to the State Corporation Commission (SCC), APCo’s electric rates have dropped from the second highest to the seventh among Virginia’s electric utilities. Customers are expected to save roughly $250 annually per 1000 kWh used, and this will be achieved through the securitization process and APCo’s November 2025 fuel factor case. The customer charges from RGGI alone will wipe more than half of those savings away.
This is not the “affordability” agenda that we were promised, and perhaps this is part of the reason why a recent Washington Post poll has shown Governor Spanberger’s popularity waning early on in her first year as Governor. In fact, her disapproval rating is nine points higher than former Governor Ralph Northam at the same time during his first term.
As the Delegate representing the 42nd House District in the Virginia General Assembly, your concerns are my greatest priority. If ever I may be of assistance to you and your family, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at DelJBallard@House.Virginia.Gov. You can also follow me on Twitter @JasonBallardVA or like my Facebook page, Jason Ballard for Delegate, to keep up to date with what I am doing in Richmond and in our community on your behalf.
