Steve Burns
WMAL.com
RICHMOND – (WMAL) Virginia Governor Ralph Northam on Monday announced a hard-fought compromise had been reached on controversial legislation to lift Dominion Virginia’s rate freeze, in place since 2015, and give customers credits in the process.
Northam’s office said after the 2015 rate freeze is lifted, customers would see an immediate credit totaling $200 million, in addition to lower rates in the future. The State Corporation Commission, charged with overseeing Virginia’s utility companies, would be able to lower rates further in 2021, and it would then review rates every three years. Dominion would be barred from asking for a rate increase before that time.
“This compromise puts more money in ratepayers’ pockets, ensures real oversight of utility rates, paves the way for significant upgrades to Virginia’s electrical grid, and mandates historic investments in energy efficiency and clean power,” Northam said in a statement.
“We think we’ve got a product here that, certainly, everybody should like,” Dominion spokesman David Botkins told WMAL. “Everybody benefits from it. There’s going to be a lifting of the rate freeze from 2015, over $1 billion in customer benefits over the next eight years.”
The rate freeze was put into effect as a response to the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and fears that Dominion’s costs could skyrocket as a result. However, Botkins said it became clear the costs they anticipated as a result of the program were not coming to fruition and will not see the light of day as a result of environmental moves by the Trump administration.
However, the compromise plan did not please everyone. Kate Addleson, the Executive Director of the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter, said Dominion’s feet are not being held to the fire in Richmond.
“What seems to be going on here is that Dominion is still trying to regulate themselves by utilizing their outsize influence in the Virginia General Assembly,” she said. “It still appears that our underlying concerns have not been adequately addressed in this bill.”
Addleson said she would have liked to see a more customer-focused process that may have led to more of a push to modernize the grid and transition to a fully clean electric generation system.
“The challenge here is the process. Trying to jam this complicated legislation through in a matter of weeks is irresponsible,” Addleson said. “Dominion is still trying to throw their weight around and regulate themselves.”
Botkins disputed the notion that Dominion does not have adequate oversight.
“Every dime that our customers have to pay on their electric bill is approved by the State Corporation Commission,” he said.
Botkins also defended the utility’s frequent campaign contributions, saying if they’re done legally and transparently, “you’re only one more voice at the table.”
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