Dear Gov. Kaine:
In my last two diaries, I discussed why the Dominion bill is bad news for the environment and consumers. Today I discuss one more reason why this bill should be vetoed: because it is a glaring example of money-driven politics and bad government in action.
Margaret Edds of the Virginian-Pilot wrote the most detailed and interesting account of how this bill came to pass. As she puts it: "In a quarter-century of assembly-watching, I don't think I've seen a bill of such magnitude sweep through with narrower scrutiny or less understanding."
As Edds notes, when she talked with Dominion executives last April, they told her that the deregulated system was working just fine. Yet, suddenly in December, Dominion abandoned deregulation, introduced its monstrous "hybrid" re-regulation bill and pushed it through the General Assembly at lightning speed.
Why the sudden turnabout and all the rush? My guess is that Dominion looked at the results of the November elections - especially the defeat of George Allen by the populist campaign of Jim Webb - and decided that they better hustle a new approach through the legislature while they still had an obedient Republican majority to work with.
Introducing the bill in the Senate was Sen. Thomas Norment (R-Williamsburg), Dominion's favorite mascot. Margaret Edds reports trying to locate Norment last November and finding him "on his way home from a Georgia duck-hunting trip with Dominion's president."
The little Clarke Times-Courier (2/14) tells us more about the man's history in opposing the utility-regulating State Corporation Commission (SCC):
Norment has never been a friend of the SCC. When the SCC regulators decided a decade ago they should actually fulfill their responsibility to protect the health and well-being of Virginians, [...] Norment did a legislative end run and stripped them of their authority to consider environmental effects.Still annoyed with the three SCC commissioners, Norment tried (and failed) to "pack the court" with an additional four or five members.
Norment also owns at least $50,000 in Dominion stock. He's not alone in that: 11 other legislators reported in their statements of economic interest owning at least $10,000 in Dominion stock - including our good friend, Sen. Benny Lambert (D-Richmond) who, in addition to being a member of Dominion's board of directors, owns more than $250,000 in the company's stock. (AP story, 2/19)
Conflicts of interest? Not under the archaic standards of good-ol' boy Virginia politics. Nor was it seen as a problem that Dominion wrote most of the bill to regulate itself. Nor that "lawmakers sought no independent, expert testimony on whether the protections granted Dominion and other utilities are necessary." (Virginian-Pilot, 2/26) Nor that when our beloved Republican attorney general conducted negotiations over this bill, environmental groups were "literally not allowed in the room." (Daily Press, 2/2).
It was no big surprise then that nothing could stop Dominion's awesome juggernaut of 18 registered lobbyists. It didn't hurt that Dominion has dropped $3.8 million on Virginia politicians in the last decade, including nearly $240,000 in 2006. (AP, 2/19) Thus is a bad bill born through illegimate means.
For all of these reasons, Gov. Kaine, if you sign this bill, it will be a setback for the new, 21st century vision of Virginia that you and Mark Warner and Jim Webb represent. Please veto this bill so that it may be replaced with one that favors consumers and the environment over Dominion's corporate interests. Thank you.
(You can e-mail Gov. Kaine here.)
This bill sure sounds like a pile of crap, but maybe they're aware of other factors? Can't imagine what though.
I also think it is interesting to note that they moved the expiration of the rate caps to December 31, 2008. If I were cynical, I would view that as ploy to avoid any electoral repercussions in this election cycle and in the presidential one in 2008. If the current regulatory environment was in such a crisis that the General Assembly needed to deal with it this year, why defer till after November 4, 2008 to effect the change? This just stinks so much. As Judge Judy would say: "Don't pee on my leg and tell me its raining."
However, what makes no sense is that the Virginia General Assembly let this bill evolve as a state alone bill. The legislative body stripped the bill of its energy efficiency and conservation measures. Secondly, Sen. Whipple's bill for a renewal energy portfolio was left in committee, apparently to die a slow death.
If Dominion is permitted to raise the price its charges for every kilowatt is sells to consumers, it seems prudent that the existing grid should be made more efficient and the state's energy policy be geared towards investments away from dirty fossil fuel generation.
The bill should mandate utilities reduce peak demand consumption on an incremental basis. Since reliability standards set by NERC & FERC require about double the amount of electricity at all times, including peak times, targeting these spikes as a way to stave of more generation & transmission is an optimal solution.
Participation in energy efficiency programs should be made mandatory by the utility providers for the state's largest industrial, government, educational, sports, corporate and retail facilities. With that participation, those entities can learn how to reduce their electricity consumption, save money and decrease their overall energy footprint. From that point, it would be voluntary as to when and how those entities would implement those measures, but at least they are educated on the matter. And being that the DOE recently reported (1) if all businesses in the nation changed all lighting to CFL, 21,000 MW of demand could be eliminated, and (2) 70% of all electricity generated is consumed by non-residential entities, and 40% of all electricity purchased by industry, is wasted and never used in its process, it seems fair such a mandate becomes law.
While alternative energy production is fairly limited in our state in terms of viability and capacity, the bill should also include some sort of financial incentive for energy generation more towards nuclear and clean-coal production.
Neither of these measures should be left to Dominion or other utilities to decipher as to when and how, since federal policy currently allows industry to make these changes at their own behest, they have hesitate to do so. If Dominion and other utility providers in our state are given the incentives to make these things happen, like re-regulation can provide, this bill will bring the state's energy policy and Dominion out of its old energy mentality which pre-dates the 1970s, and into the 21st century.