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Happy Monday, yall! Up first in House Labor & Commerce Sub #3: @NickForVA's HB2265, which would repeal VCEA
This is an effort being spearheaded by @SUV_GOP, which has been running a "Repeal VCEA" campaign for a few months.
"Increasing the energy costs is not going to be overall productive," Freitas says, citing as well concerns about loss of land.
"Increasing the energy costs is not going to be overall productive," Freitas says, citing as well concerns about loss of land.
Oh no a witness is citing Ohio deciding to roll back renewables as an example of why Virginia should do this...this is HB6, which is at the center of a federal racketeering case against the Ohio House Speaker for taking bribes to pass this bill https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/federal-grand-jury-indicts-ohio-house-speaker-enterprise-federal-public-corruption
"The solution is not to repeal the Clean Economy Act but to pass the package of rate reform legislation" going through the GA this session, says @will_cleveland of Southern Environmental Law Center
. @NickForVA says this bill doesn't intend to move away from green energy goals but changes the approach.
"The govt can certainly create jobs" through legislation, but "the marketplace isn't ready for it" and "forcing the issue thru legislation" isn't the way to do it, he says.
"The govt can certainly create jobs" through legislation, but "the marketplace isn't ready for it" and "forcing the issue thru legislation" isn't the way to do it, he says.
Lee Ware says he sees the issue as a "matter of conviction," and "there are people with reasonable convictions that stand on both sides of it."
Says @NickForVA bill represents "real and genuine concerns"
Says @NickForVA bill represents "real and genuine concerns"
Bill is killed, as expected, on a party-line vote of 6-4.
Next up: Ware's HB2281, which would exempt "energy-intensive trade-exposed industries" from certain nonbypassable charges in the VCEA.
I missed Ware's doubtless more concise definition of these firms bc I was pouring my coffee, but the bill summary defines them as biz "that are constrained in their ability to pass thru carbon costs due to international competition, companies that engage in importation of..."
"...products that cause emission leakage, and critical infrastructure facilities identified by certain federal agencies."
The bill comes from the VA Manufacturers Assoc, says Ware
The bill comes from the VA Manufacturers Assoc, says Ware
Brett Vassey of VMA says this isn't a new idea but was discussed last year during negotiations.
"This is prob the first time anyone on this committee is going to hear me say something in California is good," says Vassey, pointing to a similar law in Cali.
"This is prob the first time anyone on this committee is going to hear me say something in California is good," says Vassey, pointing to a similar law in Cali.
Vassey says worldwide, clean energy legislation "set(s) standards that are unaffordable for these industries."
"It is an unfair playing field."
"It is an unfair playing field."
"We are captured in monopoly markets. We have no other alternative for these companies," says Vassey.
"We can talk about the promise of new jobs. I can talk about the promise of existing jobs."
"We can talk about the promise of new jobs. I can talk about the promise of existing jobs."
. @will_cleveland of SELC opposing bill: "If you're concerned about the future cost of the Clean Economy Act, this bill doesn't do that either"
lol, @will_cleveland "respectfully asks the Commission to reject it," apparently forgetting he is talking to a subcommittee.
Katharine Bond of Dominion up to argue against the bill, saying these biz would avoid costs but bear all the benefits, like reduced fuel costs, of VCEA
Katharine Bond of Dominion up to argue against the bill, saying these biz would avoid costs but bear all the benefits, like reduced fuel costs, of VCEA
Meade Browder of OAG up to oppose the bill, saying "it would allow some of the very largest industrial customers to shift their" costs to other customers
"It does ask you to consider actual jobs that are already here and the communities that would be affected if they were not here," says Ware in final word on the bill.
Bill dies, again on a 6-4 party-line vote
Now up: HB1834 from @SuhasforVA, which would require owners of large carbon-emitting plants to provide a facility retirement study every 18 months and provide notice to localities and the state w/in two weeks of making a closure decision.
Three changes appear to be up in a substitute: one laying out public notice reqs, one requiring @DMMEVA to maintain a webpage with closure info, and one requiring investor-owned utilities (Dominion, APCo) to include closure info in their IRPs (their mandated long-range plans)
Ware asks for an estimate of the number of plants & communities that would be impacted by this, saying he suspects it's a "discrete universe"
Chelsea Barnes of @AppVoices says it's approximately 25 plants that would be impacted
Chelsea Barnes of @AppVoices says it's approximately 25 plants that would be impacted
HB1834 passes subcommittee on a unanimous vote
HB2304 on broadband passes subcommittee unanimously. I don't cover broadband, so I've spent the time admiring Del. Ware's office for the tenth time. So far I have not seen a background to beat it.
. @RipSullivan48 introduces his HB1907, which he says is a "technical fix" to the VCEA.
"This is not the session to be making substantive changes to the VCEA," he says.
"This is not the session to be making substantive changes to the VCEA," he says.
Honestly this bill is incredibly technical and complicated, so here's the link to the summary: https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+HB1907
"Would these companies get to bypass any VCEA charges?" asks Ware.
"The short answer is yes," says SCC rep, who says it basically only applies to Facebook. "There's no guarantee there would be no cost-shifting" but says "it would depend on the math"
"The short answer is yes," says SCC rep, who says it basically only applies to Facebook. "There's no guarantee there would be no cost-shifting" but says "it would depend on the math"
This provision applies to "accelerated renewable energy buyers," a subset of biz customers who are investing heavily in renewables. The law lets these companies bypass the non-bypassable charge but applies their renewable energy to the state targets, bringing them down
This is an interesting vote: it passes 8-2, with both @delterrykilgore and Del. Marshall joining with the Dems in favor (Kilgore was the only House R to vote for VCEA last year)
Last bill of the sub: HB2282 from @RipSullivan48 to mandate the @VAStateCorpComm provide a comprehensive report to the GA by May 1, 2022, on transportation electrification, w/proposals for a utility program to accelerate this process
The SCC has already done some preliminary work on this...here's our July rundown of its first dip into the pool. https://www.virginiamercury.com/2020/07/16/electric-vehicle-use-is-rising-but-who-should-be-at-wheel-during-the-transition/
All comments in support of the bill, with an ambiguous stance from Dominion: "We do support the creation of transportation infrastructure," says John Rust, but the company thinks its section 2 provision will discourage utilities from going forward.
Bill passes 8-2, with Marshall and @IsraelOQuinn voting against.
That's a wrap for Subcommittee #3. @RipSullivan48 issuing dire warnings about next week's agenda, which he says will be a "heavy lift."
That's a wrap for Subcommittee #3. @RipSullivan48 issuing dire warnings about next week's agenda, which he says will be a "heavy lift."
