The Post & Email by David Wojick 2/4/2022
Two big Bills designed to fix Virginia’s broken electric power system have cleared the first legislative hurdle, on the road to becoming law. Both of these Virginia House Bills were approved by the cognizant Subcommittee of the House Commerce and Energy Committee.
HB 118 fully repeals the damaging (and nutty named) Virginia Clean Economy Act. VCEA foolishly mandates the complete elimination of fossil fueled electric power by 2045, with forced plant retirements beginning in 2023. The full Bill is here:
https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB118.
HB 73 amends VCEA to eliminate many of its worst features. You can read it here:
https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB73.
Strategically it is often easier to amend a law than to repeal it. As Jefferson Institute policy analyst and power guru Steve Haner puts it, HB 118 is a hammer while HB 73 is a scalpel.
Both Bills next go to the full Committee, then if passed to the full House. Both were approved on straight party votes and the Republicans have just taken control of the House, so prospects for one or both passing are pretty good. The real fight is likely to be in the Senate where the Democrats still have a slim majority.
More:
https://www.thepostemail.com/2022/02/04/electric-power-reforms-gain-ground-in-virginia/
