The Energy Bill List Gets Longer. How Do You Choose What To Focus On? | Blue Virginia

Three energy priorities: building energy efficiency regulations, renewable energy purchase rights, clean car standards

The 2021 general meeting is in full swing, and the bills are heard every day of the week. We are now told that the meeting will be extended to 45 days, which is usually an odd-numbered year, to give the committee some time to take action before the new "cross-border" date on February 6.

At the same time, the list of bills I compiled in the past week has increased to nearly 50. I will include the updated list here-scroll down.

Unless you are paid to lobby, you can only have a few minutes to contact the legislator at a time to learn about the bill you wish to pass (or be rejected in some cases). So how to set the priority?

Let me propose three criteria for your lobbying bill:

 You might think this is easy, but I suggest you read the entire bill, not just the summary, before deciding to support a bill. In my experience, these summaries are often misleading or incomplete. Even if you agree with the obvious goals of the bill, you may conclude that these details are unwise or may lead to unintended consequences. But don't refuse the bill because it is not far enough or there is nothing you want. They rarely do this.

 It largely depends on who opposes it and how influential they are. In the past, if a utility company opposed a bill, it would die. Last year, we saw a rebellion against the code, but public utilities are still powerful enemies, and there are many other powerful interest groups that can be put to waste.

The second reason why some bills do not have a chance is that they cost money. If the legislation requires public spending and the sponsor has not yet figured it out, the committee that heard the bill may send it to the Appropriations Committee and die.

Unless your game plan is to build momentum in the next few years, you waste your time lobbying for unacceptable bills. On the other hand, sometimes negotiations are conducted even before the bill is implemented, or technical amendments that no one opposes; these bills do not require your help. Pay attention to those bills where you think public support is important. (Then also involve your friends.)

These bills passed all three tests. They will make a difference in climate, and they all have the opportunity, but they need public pressure to win votes.

If you have time to pass other bills, you can consider adding one or more utility reform measures. I also like HB1925 very much, bringing renewable energy to Coalfields, it will pair well with HB1899/SB1252, thus eliminating the coal tax credit. I can continue, but you have heard enough.

This is the entire list, updated this morning, hopefully it is comprehensive now:

 (Kilgore) Establishes but does not fund Virginia Brownfield and Coal Mine Renewable Energy Appropriation Funds and Programs. Kilgore proposed a similar bill last year, but unfortunately it failed. In the absence of budgetary implications, this should be easy to pass. But I said the same last year.

 (Rasoul) is this year's version of the "Green New Deal Act." It contains policy initiatives designed to prioritize the work and benefits of EJ populations and displaced fossil fuel workers, and requires a transition to renewable energy by 2035, although these regulations are rarely included in the VCEA.

 (Murphy) and 

(Runion) expands the definition of small agricultural producers to include certain small manufacturing companies, such as breweries, wineries, and breweries. Its legal purpose is to allow these companies to gather meters and sell renewable energy to utilities.

 (Heretick) Exemption from state and local taxes on energy storage systems, but allows revenue sharing assessments. This is the priority bill of the Renewable Energy Industry Association.

 (Hurst) clarified that the program that allows third-party power purchase agreements (PPA) is applicable to customers in non-jurisdictional jurisdictions (ie, local governments and schools) as well as customers in jurisdictions (most other customers). At present, due to the terms of the contract between the local and APCo, the PPA project with the local government in the territory of APCo has been put on hold. It is hoped that the legislation will break the deadlock. [Passed the House of Representatives, now in the Senate Department of Commerce and Labor. ]

 (Bourne) restored the customer's right to purchase renewable energy from any supplier, even if their own utility company provided renewable energy purchase options. In addition, third-party suppliers of renewable energy must provide low-income customers with discounted renewable energy products, allowing them to save at least 10% of the cost of conventional utility services.

 (Webert) Reduce the maximum size of solar facilities that can use the “permission by rule” process from 150 MW to 50 MW. [Killed in committee. ]

 (Willett) stipulates that energy storage facilities below 150 MW will be approved by DEQ in accordance with the provisions of "small renewable energy projects". Although the scale of 150 MW is not small, the licensing process according to the rules has worked well and should therefore be acceptable. This is the priority bill of the Renewable Energy Industry Association.

 (Jones) extended the clauses related to the solar energy project site selection agreement in the opportunity zone to include energy storage projects; however, according to the existing language, this regulation only adopts a provision for energy storage projects where general aviation has passed the authorization. Tax treatment laws and regulations only take effect. (Why doesn't the bill just go ahead and include the authorization? Don't ask me.) This is another renewable energy industry bill.

 (Heretick) According to changes in the consumer price index, the share of revenue required for local solar projects has been increased.

 (Petersen) Change the definition of "electricity supplier" to include operators of storage facilities of at least 25 MW and make them bear the same reporting obligations as other suppliers.

  (Barker) is the companion of HB2201.

 (Marsden) requires the State Water Control Board to represent any place that has notified the US Department of Environmental Quality that it has chosen not to implement the Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Program (VESCP) for any solar photovoltaic (electric) management VESCP. Projects with a rated power generation exceeding 5 MW. These regulations are only effective when the plan is funded; Marsden has submitted budget amendments. This is also the priority bill of the Renewable Energy Industry Association.

 (DeSteph) requires utility companies to use products made in Virginia or the United States to "build" renewable energy and storage facilities, but does not require any reasonable additional costs. [Amended to solve the problem of reasonable expenses. ]

 (Edwards) is a supporting bill of HB2034 that clarifies the PPA language in the Appalachian power sector.

 (Cosgrove) will reverse the progress made last year in preventing homeowners associations from unreasonably restricting rooftop solar. This will create loopholes that will allow HOA to ban solar power again. [Withdrawn by the sponsor. ]

 (Helmer) Increased preference for energy-saving products in public procurement.

 (Guy) revised last year’s "Laws on Clean Energy for Commercial Real Estate Appraisal (C-PACE) Legislation" to allow extension of these loans to projects completed in the previous two years; it also specifically excluded those with less than 5 units Houses and apartments. [Now a senator passes the House of Representatives. ]

 (Helmer) requires the construction or renovation of state and local government buildings to include electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the ability to track energy efficiency and carbon emissions.

 (Kory) Same as SB1224 below.

 (Boysko) requires the Housing and Community Development Commission to pass amendments to the “Unified State-wide Building Code” within one year of the publication of the new version of the International Council of Regulations’ “International Energy Conservation Code” (IECC) to address issues related to energy efficiency and Energy-saving related changes. The bill requires the board of directors to adopt building code standards that are at least as stringent as those contained in the new IECC. This is one of the important bills I wrote last week.

 (Kory) authorized locals to establish green banks to fund clean energy investments. Fairfax County has requested this permission.

 (Subramanyam) requires owners of carbon-emitting power plants to conduct research at least every 18 months to determine whether the facility should be phased out. It also needs to notify any facility retirement decisions to be submitted to state and local leaders within 14 days, a step that allows transition planning.

 Hudson eliminated the coal tax credit because it is absolutely crazy for Virginia to continue subsidizing coal mining while we promised to shut down coal-fired power plants.

 (Simon) It is necessary to obtain local approval for the construction of any natural gas pipeline with a diameter of more than 12 inches in the residential district. The origin of the bill is a special project in the Simon area, but to my surprise it is not yet necessary.

 (Cole) Similar to the Green New Deal bill, but without speeding up the RPS timetable. It suspended permits for new fossil fuel infrastructure and required a transitional plan for fossil fuel workers to ensure they receive the same income as before, and provide early retirement benefits and pension guarantees. It also needs to develop a new vocational training plan; requires 40% of energy efficiency and clean energy funds to be used in the EJ community; and requires 50% of the clean energy labor force to come from the EJ community.

 (Contract) is the partner of HB1834.

 (McPike) Abolished the coal tax credit.

 (Contract) Make it easier for DEQ to inspect and issue shutdown orders during the natural gas pipeline construction process.

 (McClellan) Requires DEQ to revise the erosion and sediment control plan or rainwater management plan after issuing an illegal shutdown order related to pipeline construction.

 (Ware) will exempt certain companies that use large amounts of energy from paying their share of the Virginia Energy Transition costs borne by the VCEA, thereby increasing the costs for all other taxpayers. Therefore, the slow disappearance of VCEA began. Everyone has their reasons for being different. [Reserved in the Subcommittee. ]

 (Kory) is the legislation required by the SCC to provide guidance on the income-to-pay ratio program under the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

 (Morrissey) directs DEQ to conduct a statewide greenhouse gas inventory, which is updated and published every four years.

 (Favola) Changed the name of the Commonwealth Energy Policy to the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy and simplified the language without major changes to the policy formulated by Favora's successful SB94 last year. The bill carried out a comprehensive reform of CEP. Until then, CEP has been a bunch of competing priorities and set a new goal for Virginia to achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 and full carbon net by 2045. Zero carbon emissions. Now that the management work is in full swing, the result is that the policy statement is more concise and coherent.

 (Lewis) will set up a carbon sequestration task force to consider ways to increase carbon sequestration in the natural environment, establish benchmarks and determine the carbon market.

And since this category cannot be completed without a bill from a legislator, the legislator believes that climate action is a lot of nonsense, so we have 

 (Freitas) will abolish the VCEA's phasing out of carbon emissions from power plants, abolish the SCC's approval of new carbon emission facilities, and abolish the regulations for declaring wind, solar, offshore wind and energy storage. Public Interest. Oh, but if you think that Freitas is just a free market believer, or are concerned about costs, the bill stipulates that planning and developing new nuclear power generation is in the public interest.

 Complete bills are drawn up, each bill is different, all bills restore SCC's oversight of the utility and/or benefit customers from refunds.

 (Subramanyam) canceled the SCC's next SCC review of Dominion rates to limit the rate reduction to $50 million.

 (Helmer) Changed "should" to "yes" in many places so that SCC can freely decide when to count utility costs and revenues.

 (Hudson) Give SCC greater discretion to determine a reasonable rate of return for the utility company and increase or decrease the order rate accordingly.

 (Bourne) would prevent utilities from using excess revenue for new projects instead of issuing refunds.

 (Commodity) changes how SCC determines the fair rate of return for utilities, and gives SCC discretion in dealing with the cost of power generation and distribution of certain utilities and determining when to increase rates appropriately. It also stipulates that when the utility company's revenue exceeds the authorized level, it must return 100% of the excess revenue to the customer, which is now 70%. SCC also has the right to determine when the capital investment of the utility should offset the excess return.

 (Tran) gives the SCC greater power to determine when utilities are overspending, and gives the committee greater discretion to decide whether to raise or lower rates and refunds. It also requires that 100% of the excess income be charged to the customer’s bill, instead of 70% as it is today.

 (Jones) Many changes have been made to the SCC interest rate review process, including setting a reasonable rate of return, requiring 100% of the proceeds to be credited to the customer's bill, and removing the following $50 million limit review process for refunds to Dominion customers.

 (McClellan) requires 100% of excess income to be charged to customer bills instead of 70% like today.

of 

 Run well 

 This week covers most of these bills.

 (Reid) Increased road weight restrictions for electric trucks and natural gas trucks to accommodate the extra weight of batteries or natural gas fuel systems.

 (Bagby) is the "Clean Car Standards" Act, which requires manufacturers to deliver more electric vehicles to dealers in Virginia starting in 2025.

 (Reid) has created a discount program for new and old electric vehicles.

 (Keam) established an electric vehicle grant fund and program to assist school boards to replace diesel buses with electric vehicles, install charging infrastructure and conduct workforce education to support electric buses.

 (Sullivan) directs the SCC to formulate and report policy recommendations on accelerating the electrification of transport in the Commonwealth. The bill also restricts how utilities can reimburse transportation electrification investments: they must recoup costs through normal power generation and distribution rates, not through rate adjustment clauses or customer credit reinvestment offsets.

 (McQuinn) requires a statewide study of transportation equity and modernization.

 (Boysko) added a requirement to the Virginia Energy Plan, which includes an analysis of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and other transportation infrastructure to support the 2045 goal of zero-carbon transportation.

 (Lucas) authorized the power company to cooperate with the school district to use electric school buses. The utility company can own batteries and charging infrastructure, and use batteries for grid services and peak shaving.

 (Edwards) Amended the titles 45.1 and 67 of the Virginia Code. "The bill organizes the law in a more logical manner, removes outdated and repetitive provisions, and improves the structure and clarity of regulations regarding the Mining and Energy Act. The bill is a recommendation of the Virginia Code Commission.

Starting from @vaplan2018, this is the latest information on the VA House of Representatives cannabis legalization legislation https://bluevirginia.us/2021/01/video-house-of-delegates-general-laws-committee-debates-reports-out-marijuana- legalization -bill-on-14-6-vote#comment-5249061823

Mr. @RepRiggleman (R-VA05) wants to run in the United States with a "national first" vote (Riggleman's response to @RepKinzinger's "national first" campaign is to "abandon conspiracy theories and anger...retreat from the edge") Dark") https://bluevirginia.us/2021/01/former-rep-denver-riggleman-r-va05-muses-about-running-statewide-on-a-country-first-ticket