Experts point out Dems ‘bait-and-switch’ on affordability, costly energy policies

On the campaign trail, Democratic governors in Virginia and New Jersey made affordability a centerpiece of their pitch to voters. Months into their tenures, their energy policies are falling flat or will drive up costs, experts tell The Lion.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation to reenter her state in a “cap-and-invest” program critics argue is costly, while New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has touted lifting a “50-year nuclear moratorium” and implementing “freezes” for utility rate hikes. The actions are trivial or counterintuitive and deprive ratepayers of real relief, according to energy policy experts who spoke with The Lion.

Additionally, both states have aggressive green energy goals and regulations that critics say shrink reliable power supply and hurt affordability.

Sherrill and Spanberger’s offices did not respond to The Lion’s requests for comment.

Virginia is now officially set to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) on July 1, which has been linked to higher utility bills. Spanberger campaigned on lowering energy bills while also promising to “negotiate the best ratepayer deal to rejoin RGGI,” framing the program as a reinvestment tool.

Gabriella Hoffman, director of the Independent Women’s Center for Energy and Conservation, told The Lion that re-entry into RGGI will add $4 or $5 a month to ratepayers’ utility bills.

“Governor Spanberger’s energy affordability agenda is a bait-and-switch that will invite dependence on costly, unreliable energy,” Hoffman said. “Increasing energy costs to decarbonize our economy isn’t affordable; it’s unsustainable.”

While RGGI promises to reduce carbon emissions, critics like Hoffman question whether it really will and point out other trade-offs.

The Institute for Energy Research has noted that though emissions have declined in the region since RGGI was implemented, this cannot necessarily be attributed to RGGI. IER argued that states shifting energy resources was the driving factor of declining emissions.

“To achieve affordability, the Spanberger administration and General Assembly should reassess the radical Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 – also known as the Virginia Green New Deal – which has increased some Virginia household energy bills by $300/year,” Hoffman said.

Notably, Virginia voters will decide on a redistricting referendum Tuesday that could give House Democrats four additional seats through 2030.

Republican Virginia Delegate Michael Webert posted a screenshot of an August interview in which Spanberger told a local outlet she had “no plans” to redistrict the state.

“Behold the great bait and switch,” Webert wrote. “VOTE NO!”

While critics argue Spanberger’s move to join RGGI is counterintuitive to affordability, others argue Gov. Sherrill’s New Jersey energy policies lack substance.

Though Sherrill’s move to unlock nuclear development has garnered a wide array of praise, Garden State Initiative President Audrey Lane told The Lion that the legislation is “procedural” and incomplete.

The bill Sherrill signed on April 8 removed a permitting requirement that had effectively blocked the construction of new nuclear plants.

“Governor Sherrill is right to prioritize nuclear as part of a long-term sustainability and affordability strategy, and this legislation is a constructive first step. That said, it is ultimately a procedural fix, not a plan for implementation,” Lane said. “It removes an outdated barrier, but it doesn’t yet provide the financing, timelines, or the state and federal regulatory certainty needed to actually build new reactors.”

Sherrill campaigned on boosting nuclear energy and “freezing” rate hikes. She signed two day-one executive orders aimed at pausing rates and stimulating local generation.

Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said during Sherrill’s campaign that he wasn’t sure how the rate freezes would work in practice, and the local outlet Shore News Network noted that the multi-state regional operator plays a major role in setting electricity rates.

Some New Jersey ratepayers will still see their electricity rates rise after June 1, the Shore News Network reported in March.

Brian Lipman, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, told a local outlet in February that he is “really concerned” that the pause could merely delay rate hikes, placing them “on the credit card.”