Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, my name is Brandon Praileau, the Virginia Program Director for Solar United Neighbors. Thank you for this opportunity submit comments in support of HB 1467.
In a time where energy demand is soaring and energy costs are steadily increasing for Virginians, HB 1467 offers a solution to help lower costs for consumers, increasing energy efficiency and modernizing the grid, while utilizing existing distributed energy resources.
With Dominion’s VPP Pilot Program already the law, it is imperative that APCo also adopt such a program. Utility rates in APCo territory have risen by 49% since 2021, causing enormous strain on ratepayers. Such a program for APCo would decrease its dependence on costly transmission, while adding more reliability to the grid and resilience in an area of the state that has been hit hard by natural disasters in recent years.
Instead of building power plants that take years and cost billions, we can save families money on their electric bills now by immediately harnessing cheaper and more efficient community power solutions like solar and storage, smart devices like thermostats and water heaters, and electric vehicles that will lower electricity bills for everyone.
While harnessing the cache of existing distributed energy resources already available to APCo, families and businesses should be fairly compensated for their contributions to the grid. This lets people share in the benefits of our energy system equally while addressing affordability, grid reliability and energy demand.
When we tap community power instead of building new gas plants, we get cleaner air and lower bills. It’s a smarter approach that results in utilities burning less fuel and avoiding costly construction of new generation facilities.
I urge this subcommittee to vote yes to this innovative and much needed solution in HB 1467.
Humbly Submitted,
Brandon L. Praileau
Virginia Program Director
Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, my name is Brandon Praileau, the Virginia Program Director for Solar United Neighbors. Thank you for this opportunity submit comments in support of HB 1467. In a time where energy demand is soaring and energy costs are steadily increasing for Virginians, HB 1467 offers a solution to help lower costs for consumers, increasing energy efficiency and modernizing the grid, while utilizing existing distributed energy resources. With Dominion’s VPP Pilot Program already the law, it is imperative that APCo also adopt such a program. Utility rates in APCo territory have risen by 49% since 2021, causing enormous strain on ratepayers. Such a program for APCo would decrease its dependence on costly transmission, while adding more reliability to the grid and resilience in an area of the state that has been hit hard by natural disasters in recent years. Instead of building power plants that take years and cost billions, we can save families money on their electric bills now by immediately harnessing cheaper and more efficient community power solutions like solar and storage, smart devices like thermostats and water heaters, and electric vehicles that will lower electricity bills for everyone. While harnessing the cache of existing distributed energy resources already available to APCo, families and businesses should be fairly compensated for their contributions to the grid. This lets people share in the benefits of our energy system equally while addressing affordability, grid reliability and energy demand. When we tap community power instead of building new gas plants, we get cleaner air and lower bills. It’s a smarter approach that results in utilities burning less fuel and avoiding costly construction of new generation facilities. I urge this subcommittee to vote yes to this innovative and much needed solution in HB 1467. Humbly Submitted, Brandon L. Praileau Virginia Program Director