Dominion’s IRP – Not the Whole Picture

Charlottesville, VA — Dominion Virginia Power recently filed its Integrated Resources Plan that fails to lay out a clear path forward for energy plans in Virginia and to transparently address the question of the need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

“Rather than deliver a clear energy plan, this document only serves to raise more questions about what Dominion really wants to do over the long-term and who really stands to benefit,” said Will Cleveland, Southern Environmental Law Center attorney. “While Dominion is taking a good step toward expanding solar, they are simultaneously taking two steps back by doubling down on dirty fossil fuels,” said Cleveland.

Dominion’s load forecast is, once again, out of line with PJM, the grid operator for the Mid-Atlantic region.  These inflated projections justify Dominion’s plans for building unnecessary power plants and pipelines. 

“It becomes more and more clear that Dominion is using the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to paint its customers into a corner,” said Greg Buppert, SELC Senior Attorney. “Locking Virginians into another enormous capital investment and another 70 years of fossil fuel doesn’t make sense.”

SELC, as it has since 2009, plans to intervene in the State Corporation Commission proceeding that will be opened to review the company's IRP and to collect the data and assumptions underlying the IRP to get a clearer picture of Dominion’s energy plans for Virginia.

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The Southern Environmental Law Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. With nine offices across the region (Charlottesville, VA; Chapel Hill, NC; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Washington, DC; Birmingham, AL; Nashville, TN; Asheville, NC; and Richmond, VA), SELC is widely recognized as the Southeast’s foremost environmental organization and regional leader. SELC works on a full range of environmental issues to protect the South’s natural resources and the health and well-being of all the people in our region. www.SouthernEnvironment.org