Virginia's Commitment

Dominion Power issued a press release this week announcing the retirement of Eva Teig Hardy. A formidable force for many years in Richmond, Mrs. Hardy headed up the Public Policy and Corporate Communications division since 1990. Mrs. Hardy has received many accolades over the course of the years, and was recognized last Spring as a bridge builder by her peers. She will head up the Climate Change Initiative until her full retirement in September.

Our May 15, 2008 news post from The Wichita Eagle editorial page, "Kansas Isn't Tapping Energy Efficiency", didn't really catch my eye until it mentioned the state of Vermont's creation of Efficiency Vermont - a nonprofit that works with everyone from utilities to consumers to evaluate and implement energy savings. What was so impressive was the fact that last year the success of the program "flat-lined" the state's electric demand. Granted, Vermont has only about a tenth of the population of Virginia, but the achievement is compelling.

To learn more:

The headlines are glaring with so many articles on energy: the rising cost of gasoline, the trickle-down effect, ethanol, ANWR, global warming, greenhouse gases, renewable energies, and on and on and on. It makes one's head swim.

I thought I would check-in this week to see how Virginia's contract with curtailment services provider, EnergyConnect, was progressing. You may recall Governor Kaine's announcement of the contract in December 2007:

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease...

Perhaps, America has finally dug itself a hole it can't get out of in its insatiable thirst for oil.

Reflecting on the May 3, 2008 editorial from the Roanoke Times, "A Civic Beats a Hummer," Americans are realizing at long last that they can't drive gas hogs, and feel like the "King of the Road," without paying a price. They're turning in the keys to SUVs in Florida and elsewhere in droves, where dealerships aren't accepting the vehicles any longer. We saw a similar effect from the oil embargo in the 1970's, and our policies didn't change.

The blame can be spread from the top on down.

Our May 1st posting from Mercury News, "Tax Break Stalemate Slows Green Movement," is cause for concern.

Tax rebates and a moratorium on the federal gas tax during the summer months are great election year political ploys.

I feel the pain, just like everyone else at the gasoline pump, but if Americans can't cut back on their use of gasoline and energy consumption in total, it all amounts to great folly. The American public needs to show a resilence it hasn't exhibited since World War II.

A cartoon in the Sunday, April 20, 2008 edition of the Washington Post really brings things into perspective. It shows a little boy from a third world nation sitting in front of a barrel labeled “Biofuel”, while standing in front of him is a large gentleman dressed in a suit labeled, “Agribusiness” - the caption reads: "Eat your dinner - children in America are running out of gas."

One of the most exciting initiatives to date in the region is the Energy Efficiency Partnership of Greater Washington and the Chesapeake Crescent – public/private partnerships that promote green building.

The original announcement of the Partnership between the capital region, Virginia Tech, Hannon Armstrong*, and Pepco Energy Services** took place last fall.

Read our news posting from the April 16, 2008 edition of the Charleston Gazette..."Power line clears hurdle."

To access the Joint Stipulation and Agreement for Settlement filed on April 16, 2008 with the West Virginia Public Service Commission among TrAILco, the Commission's Staff, the Consumer Advocate Division, and the West Virginia Energy Users Group (Case # WV 07-0508-E-CN) go to:

http://www.psc.state.wv.us/webdocket/default.htm

Read our post from the April 11, 2008 Dallas Morning News - "Greenhouse gas limits could create big challenges FERC official says."

As if electricity generated from coal-fired facilities and carried long-distances via transmission lines hasn't caused enough opposition, FERC tells us renewable energy transported via the same method, will also be a problem.

They're right.

Renewable energy from distant sources will move us away from coal-fired generation, but not transmission lines.

Dominion CEO Tom Farrell speaking during the Energy Technology Summit at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise stated, “We do not have the luxury of limiting ourselves to a few sources of energy and excluding others… We need to draw on every resource at our disposal – coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas, renewable power and aggressive and smarter conservation and efficiency programs.”