Virginia Sierra Club Disappointed in State Corporation Commission’s Tacit Approval of Dominion Energy Integrated Resource Plan
Richmond, Va – Today the Virginia State Corporation Commission voted to approve Dominion Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), failing to recognize the plan’s impacts on ratepayers, the environment, and non-compliance with the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA). The decision to accept the plan as “legally sufficient,” but not provide “express approval” is a tacit acceptance of Dominion’s disregard to safeguard our environment, protect ratepayers from data center driven cost increases, and comply with state law.
In response, Connor Kish, Director of the Virginia Sierra Club, issued the following statement:
Today's decision is a win for Big Tech and Dominion’s shareholders, but our communities and climate lost. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) ignored the biggest elephant in the room - data centers. Dominion’s proposal to meet the needs of Big Tech data companies – who claim to have climate commitments – is to deliver expensive methane gas pollution and skyrocketing costs for customers. The IRP lacked the positive, forward-looking vision that Virginians deserve to combat climate change and deliver a vast and robust clean energy future that the VCEA requires. The SCC has another opportunity to protect our climate commitments and customers in Dominion's pending rate case. We don’t have time to wait.
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The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy organization that envisions a Virginia where communities—not polluters—shape the future. The organization influences policy at the state and local level to build a Commonwealth where clean air, safe water, and healthy neighborhoods are guaranteed for all. We believe in rising to big challenges with bold, future-forward solutions, rejecting the politics of the status quo, and building a just, sustainable future together. For more