Youngkin says he will remove Virginia from Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Patrick Wilson 16 hrs ago

Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin said Wednesday that he will use executive power to withdraw Virginia from a program called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which he said is essentially a tax on electricity ratepayers and a bad deal for them and for business.

Youngkin’s comments came during a speech in Virginia Beach at the annual meeting of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

The program, designed to reduce emissions from power plants, was approved by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly in 2020 and signed by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam. In August, the Virginia State Corporation Commission first approved a request by Dominion Energy, the state’s largest electric utility, to recover costs from customers for RGGI, as it’s called.

“RGGI will cost ratepayers over the next four years an estimated $1 billion to $1.2 billion dollars. RGGI describes itself as a regional market for carbon, but it is really a carbon tax that is fully passed on to ratepayers. It’s a bad deal for Virginians. It’s a bad deal for Virginia businesses. And as governor I will withdraw us from RGGI by executive action.”

Energy producers in states that participate in RGGI trade emission reductions for credits, or buy credits to emit carbon dioxide past a cap. The revenue the state gets from the program is directed to programs that help low-income people reduce energy usage — thereby lowering their cost of electricity — and for programs combating sea level rise in coastal areas.

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