Thread by @danielmarans

I took a long look at the national lessons from the fight to regulate Dominion, Virginia's mighty utility monopoly, after historic Democratic wins at the ballot box: huffingtonpost.com/entry/dominion…

National Democrats made fighting modern-day monopolies a top priority in "A Better Deal": huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrat…

In Virginia, that fight takes the form of efforts to regulate the state's powerful utility monopolies, which are state-sanctioned. A 2015 law effectively prevented the state from regulating utility prices for several years.

Consumer advocates like @sbb_cu of @consumersunion say that the 2015 law was unprecedented and put Virginia in a class of its own in terms of the latitude it gives utility monopolies.

Virginia's utility regulator, the SCC, subsequently found that the law cost Virginia's ratepayers as much as $1 billion in lost refunds.

In November, Democrats nearly took over Virginia's House -- partly on the strength of opposition to the influence of Dominion, the biggest utility giant. 13 victorious Democrats took @activateva's pledge to refuse donations from Dominion and Appalachain, the two utilities.

Dominion has donated over $11 million to Virginia candidates from 1996 to 2017. It also has a virtual "monopoly on information," according to @ChapPetersen. When dealing with laws so complex, they often have staff and expertise that outguns the modest resources of legislators.

It's a reason why @sam_Rasoul gave this speech calling the 2015 bill "corrupt." That was pretty big in the decorous Virginia legislature.

But the perception that utility monopolies have bought influence in Virginia isn't limited to liberal Democrats. Former AG @KenCuccinelli condemned how "cronyism" had led to overly favorable treatment for state monopolies.

So with all the political blowback to Dominion's influence and the 2015 bill, did the new legislature reinstate ordinary utility regulation?

Not really.

It allows utilities to offset ratepayer refunds with investments in green energy and grid improvement. Critics, including Dem AG, call it "double dipping": Get free capital investment money in lieu of ratepayer refunds; but keep charging for those investments in utility bills.

And Scott Hempling, a utility regulation attorney currently helping overhaul Puerto Rico's power system, pointed out that the provision also gives Dominion a first crack at the new green infrastructure. There otherwise might be competitive bidding.

I left some of Hempling's best quotes on the cutting room floor, including: “They’re saying, ‘You’re gonna burden us with all this alternative energy stuff,’ and what they got is a market opportunity without having to compete for it.”

And yet some of the Dominion-backed utility rate bill's biggest proponents are Democrats, including Senate Democratic Leader Dick Saslaw, who has taken more money from the company than any other Virginia lawmaker.

How did Saslaw explain why the bill doesn't allow "double dipping?"

"Well, the donors have experts, too" and they said it doesn't so... (Full exchange below)

Still, there are signs of an uprising brewing in Virginia as well. The votes are closer, the criticism of Dominion more public.

"Ten years ago, this issue wasn’t even talked about. It was like homosexuality 50 years ago ... People now are awake." @ChapPetersen

Other arguments against the Dominion bill, which is up for a vote in Virginia House tomorrow:

1. Solar is getting cheaper any way and companies would be investing without ratepayers having to forego refunds.

2. Things like weatherization could have been added in separate bills.

3. Even the 2015 rate freeze bill included sweeteners like green energy money and weatherization. It's the same thing every time to win over Democrats.

4. Dominion deliberately crams dozens of issues into one bill that could just as easily be dealt with individually.

Why should national politics watchers care about this Virginia fight over monopolies?

As @Sam_Rasoul puts it: "This is a fight for the soul of the Democratic Party."

Will it tolerate big money influence and monopoly capture of government, or return to its New Deal roots?

"To me the Democratic Party represents people fighting against the aggregation of power and wealth in the hands of a few people." @chappetersen

.@ChrisHurstVA "This is a populist moment. The question is whether we are going to have left populism ... or the white nationalism coming out of the White House." Barring major changes, Hurst plans to vote "no," on Dominion-backed bill because of double dipping concern.

.@deltoscano just made the case for an amendment explicitly banning the double dip in the Dominion bill. "If there is not a double dip in this bill, passing this bill will clarify that fact."

.@delterrykilgore retort: "This is very technical... It's like getting a new car for the price of an old one. Who wouldn't jump on that?"

The amendment to explicitly ban double dipping passed the Virginia House 55-41! This is a huge win for antimonopoly advocates and a setback for Dominion.

Six Republicans voted with whole Democratic caucus for amendment banning double dipping.

The final vote on the bill will come up tomorrow. Fate is now unclear because double dipping ban passed. Does Dominion still want this bill? They could kill the bill, then use the senate bill and put it for a vote.