SELC statement on Dominion Energy filing to raise customer costs by more than $1 billion

Charlottesville, Va. — Dominion Energy requested a massive cost increase with the Virginia State Corporation Commission last week to saddle its captive customers with more than a billion dollars in new fossil fuel costs. In response to the announcement, Senior Attorney Will Cleveland issued the following statement:

“Dominion has added billions of dollars to customer costs since 2007 by building new fossil fuel-fired power plants, and its most recent filing proves just how volatile — and costly — it can be to run them. Now Dominion is attempting to pass its irresponsible investments onto Virginians, thanks to laws Dominion lobbyists wrote to screen shareholders from risk while leaving its customers out to dry.

“It’s clear that fossil fuel-fired power plants are bad for the environment and bad for Virginians’ wallets. Fortunately, since Dominion is incapable of making the right choices for its customers, we now have policies like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Virginia Clean Economy Act to protect Virginians. Zero-fuel cost resources like wind, solar, and energy storage are on the rise as the world’s cheapest sources of energy, with nearly two-thirds of renewables now cheaper than the cheapest new fossil fuel.

“This rate hike is not the product of responsible stewardship of Virginia’s energy grid. It’s the regrettable outcome of Dominion’s short-sighted profit-chasing.”