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Democrats have been doing their dead level best to make electricity more expensive for Virginians. In 2020, they passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which will move Virginia to a 100% renewable energy portfolio in the coming years.

It will not be a cheap transition for Virginia’s consumers.  A State Corporation Commission study found that the law will cost consumers an average of $800 per year in higher power bills.

Virginia’s investor-owned utilities — Dominion and Appalachian — are allowed to recoup the costs of any investments plus a guaranteed return. That means consumers will be paying for every wind turbine, every solar panel installed by the companies to meet the law’s requirements, plus some. The power plants they’ve already been paying for — fired by natural gas and coal — will be taken off line. But they still must be paid for.

Democrats have said this is an opportunity for Virginia, provided the commonwealth isn’t “squeamish” about making people pay more.

Virginia families are already hard-pressed to pay for higher energy costs due to the result of Gov. Ralph Northam‘s unnecessary economic lockdown. Add in President Joe Biden‘s inflation, and rising gas prices, and families and businesses are being squeezed from all sides.

What’s worse, the environmental benefits of these measures will have little to no impact on the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Recent studies show that the vast majority of carbon dioxide omissions per country come from China, not the United States. Virginia’s contribution to this total is minuscule and will have a negligible if any impact on model effects of global warming.

Del. Tommy Wright can be reached via email at DelTWright@house.virginia.gov or (804) 698-1061.