Clean Virginia: Dominion Asks Regulators to Ignore the Voices of Virginian Customers and Legislators in Boosting its Profits 

From Clean Virginia:

Clean Virginia: Dominion Asks Regulators to Ignore the Voices of Virginian Customers and Legislators in Boosting its Profits 

September 10, 2019 

Richmond, VA – In response to the State Corporation Commission hearing held today on Dominion Energy’s request for a 10.75% return on equity, Clean Virginia Executive Director Brennan Gilmore said: 

“Today’s SCC hearing drew a clear line between a utility monopoly struggling to defend its own quest for outrageous profit levels and a diverse swath of stakeholders including Walmart, the US Navy, the Virginia Attorney General, dozens of advocacy groups, hundreds of Virginians, and nearly 40 Virginia legislators. The evidence plainly points to Dominion’s proposed increase placing a disproportionate burden on customers already struggling to pay above-average utility bills. Dominion’s game of swindling customers needs to end — no more excessive profit at the expense of the rest of us.”

In one remarkable intervention, Dominion’s lead attorney argued to the SCC judges that the Commission should make a decision on its return on equity “regardless” of the voices of the hundreds of Virginians who wrote in opposition to the increase and the comments of 36 Virginian legislators also opposed. Gilmore said, “while bold and arrogant action from Dominion is all-too-common in Virginia, trying to silence the voices of sitting legislators and hundreds of Virginian consumers is a new low.”