Author: Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury

Countywide

Judge deems Youngkin’s actions to withdraw Virginia from RGGI ‘unlawful’

By Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury
Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks at Google's office in Reston in April 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Floyd County Circuit Court Judge Randall Lowe determined Wednesday Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin acted unlawfully by withdrawing Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a program aimed to reduce climate changing emissions that has funneled hundreds of millions to the state to deal with the impacts of extreme weather events.

In his five page opinion, Lowe wrote that “the only body with the authority to repeal the RGGI regulation would be the General Assembly. This is because a statute, the RGGI Act, requires the RGGI regulation to exist.”

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Countywide

Costs for electricity during extreme weather rising; Dominion says nothing to worry about — yet

By Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury
An electrical tower adjacent to the Dulles Toll Road in Reston (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The regional electric grid that supplies power to Virginia during times of extreme weather announced a 1,400% increase in some electric costs after its most recent capacity auction. But Dominion officials were quick to assure customers that they would not see an increase in their bills before the end of next year.

PJM Interconnection, which oversees the electric grid serving several mid-Atlantic states, including Virginia, announced the increase for its capacity market. Dominion buys electricity off of capacity markets during peak, or emergency, demands.

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Countywide

Regulators approve request from Dominion to drop RGGI fee on customer bills

By Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury
Dominion Energy's Fairfax office (staff photo by James Jarvis)

The average Dominion Energy Virginia residential customer will soon see a charge of about $4.50 dropped from their bills. The fee was being collected to recover costs through the state’s participation in the regional carbon market.

On Monday, the State Corporation Commission, which regulates Virginia’s utilities, approved a request from Dominion to stop tacking the fee on customer’s bills to recoup the costs the utility racked up through participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which Virginia is no longer a part of.

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Countywide

Fairfax County judge weighing fate of suit over Youngkin’s carbon market withdrawal

By Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury
The Fairfax County Courthouse (file photo)

A Fairfax County judge is weighing whether to throw out a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to remove Virginia from a regional carbon market.

Judge David Oblon heard oral arguments from Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Nate Benforado Friday morning in Fairfax Circuit Court. The hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, concluded with the judge saying he would take the case under advisement before issuing a written decision.

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Countywide

Virginia begins crafting new plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

By Charlie Paullin / Virginia Mercury
Smoke coming out of a power plant (via Ella Ivanescu/Unsplash)

Virginia is beginning to create plans for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of climate change, on a state and regional basis thanks to millions of dollars from the federal government.

This June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded about $6 million in grants to Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, regional planning organizations in Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads and the Monacan Indian Nation to create two plans.

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