City Profiteering From Rising Gas Prices

The Times Dispatch is reporting that the City is expecting residential gas bills to increase 40% due to rising fuel costs.

https://richmond.com/news/local/richmond-gas-bills-expected-to-increase-40-due-to-rising-fuel-costs/article_ec3cedd7-bfc5-514f-a7e1-34aba1f9f98d.html

What the newspaper and other mainstream local media are not reporting is the expected bonanza the City government is anticipating from this energy price spike.

The highly questionable, if not illegal, ‘PILOT’ (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) in the City’s residential utility bills continues to pad the City’s ‘General Fund’, while hitting the City’s poorest residents the hardest.

Of course, this may be even more egregious when it comes to the water utility

We don’t hear much about this resolution!
https://richmondva.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=5329677&GUID=812DB37B-E05C-4C4A-BAFC-297DCE1B04DB

AYES: 9 NOES: 0 ABSTAIN:
ADOPTED: JULY 24 2017 REJECTED: STRICKEN:
INTRODUCED: June 26, 2017
A RESOLUTION No. 2017-R049
To request that the Chief Administrative Officer cause the Department of Public Utilities to prepare and submit to the Council a plan to phase out Payments in Lieu of Taxes from the Department of Public Utilities over a ten year period.
Patron – Mr. Agelasto
Approved as to form and legality by the City Attorney
PUBLIC HEARING: JULY 24 2017 AT 6 P.M.
WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Richmond, by adoption of this resolution, establishes its intent to eliminate Payments in Lieu of Taxes (“PILOT payment”) from the
Department of Public Utilities; and
WHEREAS, eliminating or reducing the PILOT payment would require an amendment to
section 13.06 of the Charter of the City of Richmond (2010), as amended; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that the elimination of the PILOT payment would best
be accomplished by an approach that gradually phases out the payment over several years to provide for budget adjustments due to the lost revenue; andWHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the City
of Richmond that the Council request that the Chief Administrative Officer cause the Department of Public Utilities to prepare and submit to the Council a plan to phase out PILOT payments from the Department of Public Utilities over a ten year period;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
That the Council hereby requests that the Chief Administrative Officer cause the
Department of Public Utilities to prepare and submit to the Council, no later than November 1, 2017, a plan to phase out PILOT payments from the Department of Public Utilities over a ten year period and that contains, at a minimum, the following:
1. A requirement that during the ten year phase out period, the Department of Public
Utilities will continue to make PILOT payments to the General Fund and will assess alternative
fees to City departments designed to recapture the amount of the PILOT payments.
2. A requirement that the alternative fees collected by the Department of Public
Utilities will be used to decrease the utility rates charged to the residential and commercial customers of the Department of Public Utilities.
3. A requirement that the ten year phase out plan will only apply to PILOT payments
and all other payments required or assessed by the City shall continue to be paid into the General Fund.
4. A requirement that during the ten year phase out period, the Department of Public
Utilities shall submit annual reports showing the fees and taxes on each utility paid through PILOT payments.
5. A requirement that the ten year phase out plan begin in the fiscal year commencing
July 1, 2018, and ending June 30, 2019, with the exact amount of the revenue reduction to be determined by the phase out plan schedule and the alternative fees proposed by the Department of Public Utilities.

Dominion and Government Ignore Citizens On Solar


Dominion is implementing solar on the roof of it’s riverfront parking garage this week after staging materials last week. Though some solar advocates cheer, it deserves more scrutiny.

While there is widespread support for solar in the neighborhood and elsewhere, this installation comes after repeated complaints that it will block more of the historic public view of the James River from Oregon Hill. And in the big picture it is part of a disturbing pattern from Dominion and the City.
That Dominion is ignoring neighborhood residents should come as no surprise. The company has a history of deception and betrayal. In 1999-2000, Dominion and the neighborhood were in bitter contention over plans to build a high rise office complex on the riverfront. The neighborhood worked with outside groups to try to hold Dominion more accountable, even though City Council and Planning Commission notably did not. Ancient history, maybe, but note that Dominion still clings to its City-given legal right to build something taller.
In pushing themselves onto to the riverfront location, approval was given in part because they promised to move their operations center with “hundreds of jobs” from the county to Tredegar Street. But of course they lied and that did not happen.
And in the process of trying to smooth things over, Dominion met with different community representatives about riverfront plans. At the time, traffic was brought up as a chief concern, and Dominion assured City Council that existing roadways could serve the additional traffic created by its development. They lied again. Ten years later, Dominion insisted on a new road while at the same time saying it had no plans for new development “at this time.” And then came Venture Richmond’s push for an amphitheater. It was very sad to see Richmond’s historic riverfront get this corporate driveway treatment. Many trees were cut down and wildlife displaced, and the historic canal was again cut into. When this new road was proposed, Oregon Hill residents suggested extending Spring Street to 5th Street instead. They were ignored.

Getting back to solar and the present day, it’s very important to note that when Dominion did build its complex on the riverfront, the architects created a huge, south-facing, sloping roof for it’s ‘Enron-like’ energy-trading floor FOR solar. PV panels could be put flush to that roof and have little to no impact on the historic river view from Oregon Hill. Despite this long-existing option, Dominion is building more height on top of its parking garage. Once again, Dominion purposely ignores citizens and alternatives.

So what, some solar advocates say. They don’t care about this historic neighborhood or even the riverfront. So what if this parking garage array is mostly a prop for the Dominion executives and politicians to point to during protests, it’s still more solar.
Maybe, but consider that, above all, this is more energy that Dominion OWNS, not the government, and certainly not citizens.

Case in point- the City’s Department of Public Utilities is beginning to re-roof the Byrd Park reservoir. Planned for many years, this project is a perfect opportunity for the City to make its own investment in renewable energy by copying what other localities all over the world have done and add solar to the new reservoir roof. The energy produced there could be invaluable for emergency/disaster recovery operations. Citizens have asked for it. The Byrd Park Civic Association asked for it. Yet there is NO mention of solar whatsoever in the planning. When our previous Councilperson, Parker Agelasto, asked for it years ago, the DPU head at that time (now PROMOTED by Stoney’s administration) deflected by saying it would violate agreements with Dominion.

Certainly, there are other examples where ‘muni-solar’ opportunities been discouraged and stomped on by Dominon. More ‘solar schools’ was one of the goals of the ‘Put Schools First’ movement– remember how the previous Dominion C.E.O. suddenly inserted himself in school board politics? Now, instead of fixing up old schools (and adding solar!), the local corporate media tells us that City Council and School Board are too busy fighting over the building of a NEW George Wythe High School.

Let’s look at the statewide level. Recently, Aaron Sutch, the Virginia program director for Solar United Neighbors, highlighted Dominion’s “bogus arguments” in regard to state policy and solar OWNED by communities and citizens. Even when ‘big box’ out-of-state corporations have asked to ‘go solar’ in Virginia, Dominion has discouraged it. It’s reprehensible given the opportunities. Coming back to local, recognize that Stone Brewing continues to expand here but does not ‘go solar’ here, despite having lots of solar at its California facilities. They know that Dominion and government discourages it. Dominion overall does not want distributed rooftop solar, they would rather have ‘utility-sized’ solar that THEY CONTROL installed as Virginians argue about ‘solar farms’.

The point is that Dominion will continue to pretend to ‘go solar’ while ignoring citizen and neighborhood concerns and doing all it can to discourage anyone else from competing with them for energy production. Indeed, this is why Dominion took over so much of Richmond’s riverfront in the first place. Government, captured by corporate money, will not stand in Dominion’s way. This is detrimental to not just Virginia citizens, but for humanity, as we face more climate change.

Tell SCC: Support SRECs for Community Solar

TODAY is the deadline to send comments to the SCC to help increase VA SREC values.

Background:The VA State Corporation Commission is setting the rules for the implementation of the DG carveout for the Virginia Clean Economy Act as it relates to Dominion Energy filing. The carveout is the percentage of the 100% clean energy goal that will be allocated to distributed solar projects. The Commission will determine what kind of energy projects qualify for the carveout and ultimately how much SRECs are valued. The commission will decide the extent to which solar homeowners are eligible for these credits, and if so, how much these credits are worth. Their decision will affect the value of SREC’s, an important production-based incentive for solar on homes, businesses, and nonprofits in VA.
We’re asserting that to maintain a high value SREC, it’s important that the SCC reserves the solar carveout in the VCEA exclusively for net metered, customer-owned and sited solar. We also see the opportunity to ask the SCC to increase the floor of the carveout as well. But the biggie is making sure that the carveout is reserved for customer owned and sited generation. Solar United Neighbors is joining a number of industry groups to intervene in the proceeding but it’s important that as many VA solar advocates (you’ll) comment as well!
Submit Comments to the SCC before COB 2/12/21.
The commission is accepting public comments regarding Dominion Energy’s filing through Friday.
Go this link:
https://www.scc.virginia.gov/casecomments/comment/PUR-2020-00134
Follow the directions. Fill out the required information, including your name, address, email and other contact information.
In the section marked ‘Comments’, explain why the SCC should support Virginians’ ability to go solar. We’ve drafted a message below, but please personalize your message. If you have solar, tell the commission how it has benefited you and your family. If you don’t have solar, tell the commission you support expanding solar in Virginia.
Hit the submit button
Email to State Corporation Commission (feel free to customize based on your personal or organizational goals)

Dear State Corporation Commission Staff and Commissioners, RE: PUR-2020-00134
The solar installed on homes and businesses across the Commonwealth does more than provide electricity. It creates good local jobs. It makes our electric grid more reliable. And, it provides clean energy. Distributed solar owners deserve credits for these benefits.
Distributed solar energy must play a role in Virginia’s 100% clean energy goal as part of the Virginia Clean Economy Act. You can see that this happens by taking the following steps:
– Reserve the distributed generation carveout solely for customer-owned and sited,net metered solar systems.
– The 1% distributed generation carveout should be a minimum, not maximum amount. This will ensure that more Virginians are able to participate and receive a value for their role in Virginia’s clean energy transition.
– Increase the carve out by a minimum of 1% of the annual RPS requirement on a yearly basis to ensure maximum economic impact. This is consistent with the economic transition requirements contained in the Virginia Clean Economy Act.
Distributed solar is responsible for creating a majority of all solar jobs in Virginia. More distributed solar means more jobs and local economic growth in our communities. For every 1MW of residential solar, 31 jobs are created. Every kW of distributed solar brings $2,425 in economic activity.
Limiting the types of projects eligible for the distributed generation carveout will make solar more accessible to low-income families and support a more broad portfolio of projects in the Commonwealth.
Thank you for reading my letter. Please ensure customer-owned solar plays a role in our clean energy mix.
Regards,

Deadline quickly approaching for City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities utility relief assistance

From City press release:

Deadline to apply for the COVID-19 Municipal Utility Relief Program is January 17. DPU representatives available to answer questions and collect applications this week!

Richmond, VA – City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities customers that have fallen behind on their utility bills as a result of an economic hardship due to COVID-19 are encouraged to submit applications for utility relief.

The COVID-19 Municipal Utility Relief Program funding provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is being administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and supports municipal utility relief efforts during the pandemic. The utility relief assistance program is designed to be a one‐time opportunity with one payment per household or business. Funding for the program is limited, so don’t delay in applying.

Applications are due by midnight Sunday, January 17. This one-time opportunity is to help customers pay down or pay off high utility bills as a result of COVID-19 and avoid future utility service disconnections at the end of the pandemic’s state of emergency.

The application process is simple and takes less than 5 minutes to complete. Drop by one of these locations to fill out an application or feel free to drop off your completed application. DPU representatives will be on-site to assist from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

Tuesday, January 12, Southside Community Services Center, 4100 Hull Street

Thursday, January 14, North Avenue Library, 2901 North Avenue

Friday, January 15, The Market @ 25th, 1330 N. 25th Street

Customers can also request an application via email to DPUCares@richmondgov.com or by calling (804) 646-4646.

To be eligible for funding under this relief program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

· Be a customer (residential or non-residential) of the City of Richmond Department of Public Utilities with active utility service;
· Have experienced/been impacted by an economic hardship due to COVID-19;
· Have fallen behind on their City water, wastewater or natural gas utility bill for services during the period of March 1, 2020 through December 30, 2020;
· Have not received any other forms of relief or financial assistance for their City utility services; AND
· Submit the completed application so that it is received by DPU on or before January 17, 2021.

With limited funds available and the application deadline quickly approaching, eligible customers are encouraged to apply immediately. More information, including the application, are available at www.rva.gov/public-utilities.

Proposed Solar Project Violates Covenant

Dominion Energy has proposed to construct a solar array on top of the parking garage at its ‘Tredegar Campus’.

Some residents have received a letter from Dominion dated September 17, 2020 stating their intention to add up to 20 feet in height to the parking deck below Oregon Hill for a solar array.

While most Oregon Hill residents are probably in support of Dominion going solar, this appears to violate the “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants” that was signed by by Dominion in 2001.

From Laurel Street resident Charles Pool:

Dear Mr. Sarfo-Kantanka, Dominion External Affairs Manager
According to the information provided on your website, the proposed solar collector on top of the existing parking deck at the Dominion headquarters on Tredegar street would rise to 108 feet in height. This is in clear violation of the “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants” that Dominion signed in 2001.
According to this “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants”, Dominion agreed to limit the building heights to 65′ in this location where the parking deck is located. (Please see the attached “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants” with the attached plat.)
As you know, we have one of the most famous and noteworthy views of the James River at the fall line from Oregon Hill park. Dominion has already obscured some of this view with their new trading building and older tower.
Some of us remember the battle in 2000 with Dominion to protect our view. As stated in the attached article by Michael Paul Williams: “Now, people in Oregon Hill worry that Dominion, having kept its riverfront property off limits, will ultimately block or mar the river view beyond its boundaries. The property belongs to Dominion. But the river belongs to all of us. Who gets priority? It depends on your point of view.”
While we probably all support solar power, this small number of panels could be put anywhere and it is not necessary to violate the “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants” to put them in one of the state’s most important views.
Please let us know if Dominion will respect the “Declaration of Restrictive Covenants” that you signed in 2001.
Sincerely,
Charles Pool

Photos From Friday’s March

While Dominion’s RiverRock festival is still raging on the riverfront, here are some photos from Friday’s poignant environmental justice march, which ended with a rally at the Overlook. The official title was “End Environmental Racism Now: March With Union Hill, and it brought people of many faiths and ideologies (including Green Party) together to protest gas pipeline construction in Virginia. WRIC, Channel 8 news, did a good job of not only supplying video of the event, but informing people of the bigger picture (click here for story). While a few neighbors expressed some nervousness regarding this political happening outside their doors, they were gratified that the march organizers did a good job of making sure the area was clean afterwards.