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Ben Weiner, Communications Coordinator, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter
benjamin.weiner@sierraclub.org, (804) 241-9384
Sierra Club: SCC “acted in Virginians’ interest” by rejecting Dominion’s IRP
State Corporation Commission outright rejects Dominion Energy’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan
RICHMOND, Virginia – The State Corporation Commission today rejected Dominion Energy's 2018 Integrated Resource Plan. The Integrated Resource Plan is meant to serve as a comprehensive 15-year catalog of the energy demands of Dominion's Virginia territory and how Dominion plans to meet them.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission has not previously outright rejected, in its entirety, an Integrated Resource Plan. The State Corporation Commission rejected this year's Integrated Resource Plan due to a failure to include a least-cost plan, a failure to fully meet the requirements of 2018's Senate Bill 966 and overinflated load forecasts.
The commission also required Dominion to include the energy efficiency and demand-side management programs required by 2018’s Senate Bill 966 in their modeling, which will significantly change future load forecasts.
In response, Kate Addleson, Director of the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter, released the following statement.
Today, the State Corporation Commission acted in Virginians’ interest by refusing Dominion Energy's fossil fuel-heavy Integrated Resource Plan.
By acknowledging Dominion's refusal to accurately forecast Virginia’s electricity needs, the State Corporation Commission has taken an important step in protecting ratepayers from rampant cost overruns associated with the high quantity of unneeded fracked-gas pipelines and plants that Dominion said it needed to meet its inflated load forecasts.
The State Corporation Commission also acted in the best interest of Virginians by requiring Dominion to include fuel transportation costs for fossil fuel infrastructure in their modeling, including those associated with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
We hope the State Corporation Commission will continue to work on behalf of Virginians, like they did today, and expand access to the affordable, clean renewable energy more than two out of three Virginia voters want.
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About the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter: The Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club is over 20,000 members strong. We are your friends and neighbors working to build healthy, livable communities, and to conserve and protect our climate and environment. The Virginia Chapter is part of the national Sierra Club, the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. For more information, visit http://www.sierraclub.org/virginia