( – promoted by lowkell)

On Sunday, April 14, hundreds of Virginians will call on the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to put efficiency and clean energy first rather than allow continued investments in fossil fuels by Dominion Virginia Power. Participants will dance the popular 1980s dance known as the Electric Slide in front of Dominion’s Richmond headquarters [Editor’s note: please click on the image to “embiggen”].

Dominion has proposed another major investment in fossil fuels, this time a $1.1 billion dollar natural gas plant in Brunswick County. On April 24th, Dominion will seek the required Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) permit to construct and operate the Brunswick plant from the SCC at a hearing in Richmond.

The $1.1 billion plant is more about securing a market for Dominion’s own products than serving Virginia’s families. Dominion has consistently overestimated how much energy we really need because it is significantly invested in the natural gas industry. Company executives use this bad math to justify building new plants, when the Commonwealth’s energy demands could be met with affordable and reliable efficiency and clean energy. Recent expert testimony to the SCC demonstrated that energy efficiency would be a cheaper, safer option for meeting the state’s power needs. While multiple organizations in preparation for this hearing have argued that Dominion has failed to prove the plant is even necessary.

Dominion is pushing forward a risky proposal for an unnecessary investment that could cost families and businesses big money over the next several decades. If approved, this plant could stick customer with volatile electricity bills, rising fuel costs and ownership of a plant they don’t need despite viable options. Dominion persists because it believes building new power plants is an easier way to make more money for its shareholders.  

The SCC is a safeguard whose mission is to balance the interests of citizens, businesses, and customers in regulating Virginia’s business. Our SCC can protect our families and businesses by rejecting the Brunswick gas plant permit, and instead requiring Dominion to invest in efficiency and clean energy.

Join hundreds of Virginians this Sunday as we say not to dirty fossil fuels and electric slide toward clean energy!

For more information visit VaSierraClub.org/electricslide

( – promoted by lowkell)

I heard you on TV last week, talking about guns. I’m glad you’re pressing the matter, and not just letting it die. But something about the way you talked about the gun issue made me want to scream.

I heard you doing that “both sides do it” nonsense.  Explaining why it’s so hard to get reasonable things done, you said both sides take “extreme positions.”

But just what is the “extreme position” anybody in Congress is taking on the gun-control side?  Is anyone taking a position more “extreme” than what you have proposed — universal background checks and a ban on weapons and ammo-clips that enable a shooter to massacre dozens of people within seconds?

Even if there were positions more in the direction of gun-control than yours, would they be “extreme” using the laws of all the other advanced societies in these matters as the standard of what’s reasonable and what’s extreme. (The citizens of those nations are 20 times less likely than Americans to die from firearms.)

No, what’s extreme is the position taken by the NRA, and by all those who either agree with the NRA or allow themselves to be intimidated by the NRA.  What’s extreme is taking the right to bear arms as an absolute, so that even weapons that have no legitimate civilian use — self-protection or hunting — must be allowed in a 21st century civilized society.

So why give voice to this “both sides” nonsense?  It’s contrary to the truth, and it’s counter-productive.  It gets in the way of achieving your purposes.

The leadership the American people need on this gun issue will tell it like it is.  It will help our citizenry understand that our toxic, obstructionist, extreme politics is not coming from both sides.  It’s coming from one side that’s gone off the deep end. It’s coming from a side that uses fear-mongering lies and treats politics as warfare.  

Helping the American people see this is Job One for you, Mr. President.  It’s Job One because none of the other jobs will get done, or get done right, until enough of the American people see clearly the nature of the force that’s preventing us from meeting our challenges — on the gun issue, and just about every other problem in America that needs addressing.

I don’t think your way (“both sides do it,” “extreme positions” in both directions, the problem with “Washington”)  makes you look reasonable.  It makes you look weak.  It doesn’t make you look like a truth-teller.  It makes you look like you’ve allowed yourself to become enmeshed in a political system in which the lie too often defeats the truth.

Appeasing these opponents with bogus even-handedness will not make them any more likely to cooperate with you. The Republicans who do the bidding of the NRA on the gun issue are the same people who made it their top priority in your first term to make you fail. If they budge, it won’t be because you treat them with a respect they don’t deserve but because you’ve made the political costs of their destructive conduct too great for them to bear.

Andy Schmookler, recently the Democratic candidate for Congress from Virginia’s 6th District, is an author whose books include, Out of Weakness: Healing the Wounds that Drive Us to War.

From Planned Parenthood of Virginia:

Today, the Virginia Board of Health voted to approve the targeted restriction of abortion providers. Cianti Stewart-Reid, executive director of Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC, issued the following statement in response:

“The sole purpose of these types of restrictions is to make abortion inaccessible to women by imposing unnecessary and sometimes impossible-to-meet restrictions on health centers.  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has said these restrictions are designed to “make abortion disappear in America.”

These restrictions are part of a coordinated strategy by gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, the endorsed candidate of extremist groups, and his allies to end safe and legal abortion in Virginia.  

The consequences are dangerous for women’s health.  By shutting down health centers that provide a range of services to women, these restrictions will make it harder for Virginia women to get affordable birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.  

Ken Cuccinelli and his extreme allies won’t stop unless we stop them.  As a leading advocate for Planned Parenthood health centers in Virginia, Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC is leading the charge to keep Ken out of the governor’s mansion. Because Virginia can’t risk Ken Cuccinelli.”

Cross posted from Scaling Green, in part because this analysis VERY much applies to Dominion Virginia Power. Check it out and gain a better understanding of why Dominion has resisted energy efficiency measures, net metering, decoupling, mandatory renewable portfolio standards, etc.

As usual, David Roberts of Grist is on top of important developments in the energy industry that the traditional media has mostly ignored. In this case, it’s a new study by the Edison Electric Institute – the industry group which represent 70% of the U.S. electric power industry – titled “Disruptive Challenges: Financial Implications and Strategic Responses to a Changing Retail Electric Business.” If that sounds dry, how about we go with David Roberts’ more exciting headline: “Solar panels could destroy U.S. utilities, according to U.S. utilities.” And no, this is not – as Roberts explains – “wild-eyed hippie talk,” but “the assessment of the utilities themselves.” And, Roberts adds: “It is one of the most prescient and brutally frank things I’ve ever read about the power sector. It is a rare thing to hear an industry tell the tale of its own incipient obsolescence.”

Roberts’ article got my curiosity going, so I read the study myself. My conclusion? Roberts is absolutely correct that this is an important study, one that provides a window into the utility industry’s thinking about distributed, renewable energy and its implications for the utilities’ traditional business model. Robert is also correct in his other findings. We’ll get to those in a minute. First, thought, here’s the lead paragraph of the EEI report’s Executive Summary, which provides a concise summary of the report’s main findings (bolding added by me for emphasis):

Recent technological and economic changes are expected to challenge and transform the electric utility industry. These changes (or “disruptive challenges”) arise due to a convergence of factors, including: falling costs of distributed generation and other distributed energy resources (DER); an enhanced focus on development of new DER technologies; increasing customer, regulatory, and political interest in demand-side management technologies (DSM); government programs to incentivize selected technologies; the declining price of natural gas; slowing economic growth trends; and rising electricity prices in certain areas of the country. Taken together, these factors are potential “game changers” to the U.S. electric utility industry, and are likely to dramatically impact customers, employees, investors, and the availability of capital to fund future investment. The timing of such transformative changes is unclear, but with the potential for technological innovation (e.g., solar photovoltaic or PV) becoming economically viable due to this confluence of forces, the industry and its stakeholders must proactively assess the impacts and alternatives available to address disruptive challenges in a timely manner.

If that’s not dramatic enough, David Roberts elaborates on a few key points from EEI’s report that are well worth highlighting.

1.  Under the current model for the utility sector, one that’s been around for decades, “it is in a utility’s financial interest to generate (or buy) and deliver as much power as possible.” The problem for utilities is this: “Now, into this cozy business model enters cheap distributed solar PV, which eats away at it like acid.”

2. Not only is distributed solar power “not utility-owned or utility-purchased,” it also peaks at mid-day, the time of highest demand (“peak load”) and the most expensive power prices.  So, Roberts explains, “when solar panels provide peak power, they aren’t just reducing demand, they’re reducing demand for the utilities’ most valuable product.”

3. The EEI study demolishes the widespread myth that customers will always need grid-delivered power, because solar is “intermittent,” etc.  Instead, the report finds, this is highly likely not to be the case for much longer: “While we would expect customers to remain on the grid until a fully viable and economic distributed non-variable resource is available, one can imagine a day when battery storage technology or micro turbines could allow customers to be electric grid independent.”

4. The problem for the industry is that this destroys their business model; for instance, the cost of investments “must now be spread over a smaller group of ratepayers,” meaning “higher rates for those who haven’t switched to solar.” This leads, in Roberts’ words, to a “vicious, self-reinforcing cycle,” in which “it raises costs on other ratepayers and hurts the utility’s credit rating,” and as more customers switch to solar because of the improved economics, “costs on remaining ratepayers are even further increased, the utility’s credit even further damaged.”

5. This “vicious, self-reinforcing cycle” is not theoretical. In fact, it’s happened to several other large industries telecommunications, airlines, mail delivery, film, etc. And, the EEI study worries, it could very well happen to the utilities as well.

What next? It appears inevitable that the economics of distributed renewable energy (mostly solar power at this point), as well as of energy efficiency enhancements, will continue to improve in coming years. This means that the traditional utilities’ business model will have to adapt, or quite possibly die. The question is, which path will utilities choose: a) resist the changes to their dying breath, thus slowing (but not stopping) the adoption of distributed renewable energy? b) try to manage the changes, harness the forces at work, and potentially benefit from them? c) ignore the rising tide of distributed renewable energy until it’s too late?  This is something we’ll be watching closely in the months and years to come.

Here are a few Virginia (and national) news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, April 12. Also, check out the trailer for the “Do the Math” movie, which “tells the story of the rising movement to change the terrifying math of the climate crisis and fight the fossil fuel industry.”

*The Fossil Fuel Resistance (Must-read article by the amazing Bill McKibben of 350.org)

*Abortion foes encouraged as more states approve added restrictions (“Virginia is posed to join four states that have imposed increasingly stringent rules in past six weeks.”)

*Senators avert gun filibuster, setting up hard fight; 16 Republicans among ‘no’ votes

*The Republicans’ turn

(The Post finally realizes that the GOP is filled with irresponsible jerks?)

*How online flaming kills understanding (One of the main reasons we ban trolls and nasty jerks here at Blue Virginia – “According to a new study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, online incivility does more than repel. It actually makes it harder to understand difficult topics.”)

*Jeff’s Notes: McDonnell’s legacy

*Democratic AG hopeful seeks U.S. probe of McDonnell, Cuccinelli

*Ken Cuccinelli picks anti-abortion group over Virginia teachers union (“Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli skipped an invitation Thursday to meet with the state’s largest teachers union to appear instead in front of an anti-abortion summit in Washington that’s being organized by his largest campaign contributor.”)

*Decisive hearing on abortion clinic rules set for Friday (Will Cuccinelli get his wish to deny Virginia women access to reproductive health care? It’s very possible.)

*Star power (“Voters who have been following the revelations about the cozy relationship between Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams and leading Virginia Republicans cannot come away from the story feeling especially proud of how it reflects on the commonwealth.”)

*Va. senator wants immigrant investment program review

*Va. senators named to Medicaid review panel (“Regardless of their work, the future of expansion will likely depend on who wins the governor’s race this November — Democrat Terry McAuliffe supports expansion, while Republican Ken Cuccinelli opposes it.”)

*McAuliffe affirms support for road bill, presses Cuccinelli to take position

*Business affairs need airing (“McAuliffe needs to come clean  on his role at GreenTech.”)

*Photo ID ‘leaves a lot to be desired’ (“Va. elections official has issues with law signed by governor last month”)

*Both sides turn up the heat on candidate issues (The false equivalency yet again – “both sides” do it, presumably equally, so no need to try and figure out which “side”‘s corruption is worse than the others. Hint: it has three letters, begins with “G” and ends with “P”.)

*Caught texting while driving in Va.? GPS can steer you away from a ticket. (“State’s new law has a big loophole: Drivers can claim they were using phone to make a call or use GPS.”)

*Virginia Beach noise-ordinance rules are too loose, judge says

*Rigell co-sponsors bill seeking Benghazi investigation (I just keep trying to recall any GOP co-sponsors for investigating the Iraq War under George W. Bush, the Beirut Marine Corps bombing under Ronald Reagan, etc. Nope, didn’t happen, even though those were orders of magnitude worse than Benghazi. Fascinating how that works, huh?)

*Nats sweep White Sox

*Caps win sixth straight game, 3-1