It’s not often that Corey Stewart and I are on the same side of an issue, but as they say, “a stopped clock is right twice a day”.
Dominion Energy is currently embroiled in controversy for a number of projects throughout Virginia – from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, to a high voltage transmission line crossing the historic James River, to the disposition of tens of millions of tons of toxic coal ash currently stored on the banks of the Potomac River. When it comes to their projects recently, their track record is clear – corporate greed trumps human need.
The most recent example of this surrounds the route for a high voltage transmission line that will primarily serve a cluster of data centers owned by Amazon. There is a route available that would serve the needs of Dominion’s customer while keeping the impact on Prince William County’s residents to a minimum. This route, known as the I-66 hybrid, would have the lines largely buried along the Interstate 66 right of way – out of sight, and out of mind.
Burying a power line is expensive, however, so Dominion proposed two cheaper routes which both include forced land seizures or easements from Prince William County’s residents. When asked why they weren’t pushing for the I-66 hybrid route, Dominion’s representatives had the audacity to claim they were trying to avoid a rate increase for their customers.
This is a false choice that amounts to nothing more than extortion.
Dominion extracts over $2 billion in profit from its customers each year – customers who have no choice but to pay whatever Dominion demands. They can accept a slightly lower profit margin and pay for the line themselves, or they can pass the cost to the primary customer, which also rakes in over $2 billion in profit per year. Both of these options are legal That information is not something Dominion wants you to hear, because if you know that they prioritize their profit margin above your home, it’s harder for them to get away with it.
And what does Dominion do when a politician has the nerve to tell them “no”?
They do what any spoiled child does. They throw a fit. In this case, spending many thousands of YOUR dollars to buy full-page attack ads in Prince William Times and The Washington Post. The company that has their fingers in nearly every political campaign in Virginia ratchets up the vitriol when they don’t get their way, in an attempt to bully elected officials into submission.
As with any regulated monopoly, Dominion exists because we allow them to exist. Dominion charges the rates we allow them to charge. They exist to serve us, this tantrum from their executives is unacceptable, and is one of the many reasons that I am not taking a single dime from them or any other for-profit corporation in my campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates.
Lee Carter
Candidate, Virginia House of Delegate’s 50th District
www.carterforvirginia.com | https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/carterforva-fight
Note: This post in no way intends to endorse or support Stewart’s many other viewpoints, especially as far as his stance on the Confederate flag is concerned, which I find despicable.