Spanberger, Democratic Lawmakers Are Pressing for Virginia to Rejoin RGGI. Here’s How It Would Work

In her first address to the joint General Assembly, Gov. Abigail Spanberger stated that Virginia will rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.

RGGI is a regional initiative by 10 states to cap carbon emissions by limiting how much pollution energy production facilities can emit, and they have to purchase permits for each ton of carbon they emit.

Permit sales are held quarterly. The money earned by each state’s sale is then reinvested back into the state for flooding resilience projects, weatherization, and energy efficiency programs for low-income households.

Virginia received over $800 million over the three years the state was in the program before the removal. The law directs 50% of the funds to low-income efficiency programs, 45% to the Community Flood Preparedness Fund, and the remainder to administrative costs.

“RGGI generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Virginia — dollars that went directly to flood mitigation, energy efficiency programs, and lowering bills for families who need help most,” Spanberger said in her speech.

The estimated cost of the utilities’ permits that is passed down to ratepayers averages about $2 a month for most residential customers.

When in office, Gov. Glenn Youngkin removed the state from the agreement, calling it an unnecessary tax. The move was then appealed in court, and a federal judge deemed the governor’s removal of the state unlawful because the General Assembly hadn’t authorized it.

However, the process to rejoin is not as easy as just saying the state wants in.

House Bill 397, sponsored by Del. Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria, is working through the General Assembly, which will solidify the ability of the body to put the state into RGGI and set up the market cap trade process.

Herring said there are efforts to add an amendment to the budget bill that would speed up the process and potentially get the state back into RGGI this spring. Some advocates are hoping the state can partake in the sale slated for early summer if the amendment is approved.

Those opposed to the state rejoining the agreement point towards the cost to consumers, which some believe goes against the affordability messaging that Democrats campaigned on, since it would tack on an additional charge on utility bills.

A representative for the Virginia Manufacturers Association, Brett Vassey, spoke against the bill in a subcommittee with concerns over the cost and urged the lawmakers to consider changing where the funds are funneled.

“We need more (energy) capacity in the market,” Vassey said. “There probably is an opportunity to look at that allocation and see if there’s a way to generate more electricity, even green electricity, and help local governments to be part of that as well.”

Some lawmakers are not on board with the effort to return the state to RGGI. Del. Joseph McNamara, R-Roanoke County, said Virginia is purchasing power to meet demand from states that are not part of the agreement.

“When I talk about us going out of state from a power procurement perspective, it’s impacting our transmission costs,” McNamara said.

Proponents for the bill said the cost is worth it for flood resilience and the aid to low-income families that will see their bills go down after benefitting from the efficiency programs.

“What they ignore is the long-term benefits, and how it’s actually going to decrease costs for energy in the long term for low-income consumers,” Herring said.

The proposed budget amendment language is anticipated to be released later this week. There has been no word yet on whether or not Attorney General Jay Jones will withdraw the state from the appeal to the previous judge’s order against the removal from RGGI.

by Shannon Heckt, Virginia Mercury

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