Virginia residents will continue to experience a sharp increase in their electricity bills based mostly on “green” energy mandates in the run up to this year’s gubernatorial race.
Earlier this year, Dominion Energy—the state’s public utility headquartered in Richmond—submitted applications for rate increases to the State Corporation Commission, the state regulatory authority overseeing utilities, that will begin to show up on monthly bills.
After analyzing the applications, Stephen D. Haner, a senior fellow for environment and energy policy at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, identified the Democrats’ 2020 Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) as the major culprit. He’s expecting an almost 50% increase for Virginia ratepayers within the next two years.
The 1,000-kilowatt hour monthly bill was about $116 just before VCEA was implemented, but Haner expects “pending price increases” to take this amount to about $170 in 2027. But that’s not the end of it, Haner explained, since VCEA compliance costs will continue to pile up.
“Clean energy requirements are the biggest component of the increase,” Haner said. “And all these costs get passed along not just to residential people but to businesses and industry. When Virginia becomes an expensive state for industry that’s not helpful, because we are competing against other states further south with much lower electricity rates.”
The construction for Dominion Energy’s Coastal Offshore Wind project is particularly expensive, Haner said. Other costly line items he highlighted include solar construction initiatives and renewable energy credits (RECs) that Dominion must purchase when it fails to meet renewable targets.
Since the vote in favor of the VCEA occurred along party lines with Democrats united in favor of the legislation, Haner sees an opportunity for Republicans to seize on rising energy costs as a major issue in the governor’s race. But he also expressed disappointment that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican, has not yet made a campaign issue out of the green energy mandates. Winsome-Sears is running to succeed Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in the Nov. 4 election. She will face off against Abigail Spanberger, a former Democratic member of Congress. Under state law, the Virginia governor is limited to one consecutive term.
Several environmental advocacy groups that support the VCEA have also endorsed Spanberger, including Clean Virginia and the Virginia League of Conservation Voters. Spanberger has also expressed support for the goals of the VCEA on her campaign website. As a member of Congress, she consistently voted in favor of climate initiatives that would raise energy costs and limit consumer choice. Spanberger, for example, voted against a bill that would have ended efforts to ban gas-powered vehicles. That vote is highly relevant now that the U.S. Senate has passed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) overturning a waiver the EPA granted to California enabling the state to set national vehicle emission standards.
(RELATED: Can Senate Republicans Stop California’s EV Mandate Before it’s Too Late?)
“Energy policy is one area where there is a lot of daylight between the candidates,” Haner said. “Winsome-Sears should be making an issue out of this.”
But, as Haner explains, Dominion Energy does not make it easy for researchers to pull back and unwind the true costs of green mandates. There was a time when wind energy and solar energy were openly listed on utility bills, but those days appear to be over.
“Dominion now makes it difficult to do these calculations,” Haner said. “The wind is one charge, the solar is another, and the RECs are another. But they never add the three together because they want to make it as opaque as possible.”
As a political entity, Dominion packs a wallop with campaign finance records showing the energy company making significant contributions to both major parties. So far in 2025, Dominion has donated more than $2 million. Haner expects the utility to continue to wield significant influence in the state legislature.
Looking ahead to the November election, no discussion of energy costs in Virginia is complete without mentioning the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state climate agreement built around the imposition of carbon taxes. Youngkin withdrew Virginia from RGGI in 2022. Although a circuit court judge ruled last year that Youngkin’s decision was unlawful, the judge also agreed to freeze his ruling pending the outcome of an appeal from the governor. Virginia will remain outside of RGGI pending the outcome of Youngkin’s appeal.
But in the meantime, Democrats, including Spanberger, have pledged to pull Virginia back into the carbon tax scheme. Spanberger went on record in support of RGGI during a radio interview last November.
If a new governor could work the state legislature to repeal the green mandates in the VCEA, Haner anticipates that this could save Virginia households and businesses billions of dollars over time.
This article originally appeared at Restoration News