Virginia’s Republican AG is fearful {that a} $9.8 billion offshore wind mission prices an excessive amount of and strikes a cost-sharing deal to let it go forward 

The proposed settlement, which incorporates efficiency reporting necessities and provisions laying out a level of building price sharing, continues to be topic to closing approval by the State Company Fee.

Legal professional Common Jason Miyares, a Republican whose workplace represents the pursuits of shoppers in utility regulation proceedings, stated the settlement would offer “first-of-its-kind” protections for ratepayers whereas making certain the 176-turbine mission with an estimated $9.8 billion capital price strikes ahead in a fiscally accountable approach.

“I’m happy that we now have achieved client protections by no means seen earlier than in trendy Virginia historical past,” Miyares stated in a press release. “For the primary time Dominion has vital pores and skin within the sport to make sure that the mission is delivered on price range. Ought to the mission run materially over price range, it should come out of Dominion’s pocket, not shoppers,” he stated.

Dominion filed its software to construct and get better the prices of the mission with the State Company Fee almost a yr in the past. That kicked off a prolonged course of earlier than the regulatory company, one which has included voluminous filings and an evidentiary listening to in Could.

The fee in August signed off on the mission, but it surely included a client safety provision — a efficiency assure — that Dominion strenuously objected to, saying it will kill the mission.

The events to Friday’s proposal stated they’d conferred since then and reached the phrases of the proposed settlement. It requires a cost-sharing association for any overruns past the estimated $9.8 billion price ticket. The corporate would cowl 50% of building prices between the vary of $10.3-$11.3 billion and 100% of prices between $11.3-$13.7 billion. If building prices have been to exceed $13.7 billion, the difficulty would return to the fee.

The proposal wouldn’t require the corporate to ensure sure vitality manufacturing ranges, just like the SCC had initially ordered. Relatively, Dominion must report common web capability components yearly and “present an in depth clarification of the components contributing to any deficiency.” Capability issue is a measure of how usually a producing facility runs throughout a time period.

Richmond-based Dominion stated in a information launch that the deal would offer “vital buyer advantages.”

“I respect the considerate effort of all events in reaching a constructive settlement to permit the mission to proceed shifting ahead,” stated Bob Blue, Dominion’s chair, president and and chief govt officer.

Additionally events to the settlement are Walmart, Virginia’s largest personal employer, and two conservation teams: Appalachian Voices and the Southern Environmental Legislation Middle.

Will Cleveland, an lawyer for SELC, emphasised in a press release that the first challenge within the case was “by no means about offshore wind’s worth however the dangers created by the possession construction.”

No different offshore wind mission below growth within the U.S. is funded by captive ratepayers, and no different mission has a monopoly utility proprietor performing as its personal normal contractor, the legislation heart stated.

The mission, which might be situated about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Seashore, has drawn broad assist from native officers, policymakers, enterprise teams and commerce unions, who say it should assist struggle local weather change and create jobs.

The corporate already has a two-turbine pilot mission up and operating. The two.6-gigawatt, utility-scale mission’s schedule requires building to be full in late 2026. Dominion expects the mission to generate sufficient clear vitality to energy as much as 660,000 houses.

Clear Virginia, an environmental and fee reform advocacy group that could be a social gathering to the continuing, didn’t oppose the settlement, which it stated in a press release represented a “huge enchancment” for shoppers.

“Absent strain from environmental advocates, the Workplace of the Legal professional Common, regulatory employees, and Walmart, Dominion would have proceeded with some of the costly vitality tasks so far in Virginia with few client protections and would have confronted little efficiency expectations to really generate constant clear vitality,” Laura Gonzalez, the group’s vitality coverage supervisor, stated in a press release.

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