On Tuesday, Virginia lawmakers heard from utility regulation experts on the potential impact of the proposed merger between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy. If approved, the merger would create the largest electric utility in the country. In the days preceding this week’s Commission on Electric Utility Regulation meeting, legislators asked State Corporation Commission Chair Kelsey […]

As a single mother balancing work against earning a nursing degree, Yvettrise Hoskie thought homeownership was out of her reach. Now, she’s settling into a Henrico County townhome development.  The county’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund helped with her downpayment, but the financial assistance was made possible by one of the state’s more controversial neighbors — […]

With new research showing that black lung disease among Appalachian coal miners has reached an almost 50-year high, advocates are demanding federal regulations be enforced. The data published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine is also part of a peer-reviewed research letter from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health […]

Dominion Energy asked the State Corporation Commission to recover an additional $922 million in fuel costs, citing extreme power demands during as well as a national rise in gas prices as reasons for the escalation beyond its original calculations SCC staff reported that Dominion’s “actual fuel and purchased power expenses rose dramatically from approximately $1.7 […]

Seven Virginia hemp businesses are asking a federal judge to block new restrictions on consumable hemp products, arguing the changes will wipe out much of their inventory, trigger layoffs and force some companies to close when they take effect on Aug. 15.  The lawsuit, filed July 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Western […]

Gov. Abigail Spanberger is stepping directly into the regulatory fight over the proposed $67 billion sale of Dominion Energy to Florida-based NextEra Energy, becoming the first Virginia governor to formally intervene in a case before the State Corporation Commission.  Spanberger announced Thursday that she will seek intervenor status in the case, giving her administration the […]

Virginia’s sales tax holiday begins on Friday and runs through Sunday, offering deals on qualifying school supplies, clothing and footwear sales tax. Certain emergency preparedness items also qualify. The sales tax holiday starts Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Aug. 9 at 11:59 p.m., and could save consumers 5.3% to 7% on total costs. […]

Among the many environmental, energy and economic concerns about the unconstrained spread of data centers in Virginia, the impact on drinking water supplies has ranked fairly low. That changed suddenly last week, with the release of a report that the administration of Gov. Abigail Spanberger seems to have tried to suppress.    In compliance with legislation […]

Virginia is creating an enforcement unit to oversee the rapidly expanding market for vaping products, hemp-derived intoxicants, THC and kratom, consolidating several regulatory responsibilities within the attorney general’s office.  Attorney General Jay Jones announced the Regulated Products Enforcement Unit on Thursday, saying it will handle civil enforcement, retail compliance, product directories and public education as […]

Loudoun County, ground zero of Data Center Alley and home to over 250 of the power-hungry digital warehouse facilities, is considering a pause on all new data center project applications, officials said this week. “The community has basically been begging us to do something about the unchecked growth of data centers,” County Supervisor Juli Briskman […]