Current law allows power generators, such (as) Dominion Energy, to pass on all their costs, essentially bearing no cost for the carbon credits,” a 2022 administration report said.
“The imposition of the RGGI ‘carbon tax’ fails to offer any incentive to change behavior. The law included language that said the costs of allowances purchased through the initiative would be deemed environmental compliance costs that may be recovered from ratepayers of monopoly utilities Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power.
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Youngkin, who acknowledges the threat of climate change and has pledged to address sea-level rise, says his concerns with RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”) center on the state's electric utility policy and the 2020 law that made the state a full participant in the program. In Virginia, most proceeds from the sale of allowances - which have reached nearly $590 million so far - are divvied up between efforts to assist localities affected by recurrent flooding and sea-level rise, and a state-administered account to support energy efficiency programs for low-income individuals. Participating states require plants of a certain generating capacity to purchase allowances to emit carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, which scientists say is already accelerating sea level rise and worsening extreme weather. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is an effort by 12 mid-Atlantic and Northeast states to reduce power plants' carbon emissions. “Today’s commonsense decision by the Air Board to repeal RGGI protects Virginians from the failed program that is not only a regressive tax on families and businesses across the Commonwealth, but also does nothing to reduce pollution,” Youngkin said in a statement after the vote. Wednesday's final 4-3 vote by the state Air Pollution Control Board advanced the governor's proposal over a key hurdle in the administrative process, though his plan is ultimately expected to face a legal challenge.
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