Virginia Enacts Dominion Energy Bills: Regulatory Capture Deepens Grid Modernization Divide
Original framing: “Virginia Governor Signs Dominion-Backed Bills. All Eyes on Regulators Now.” — Inside Climate News
Virginia’s energy policy echoes the 19th-century railroad land grants, where public resources were privatized for corporate gain under the guise of 'public benefit.' The 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act was designed to curb such monopolies, but deregulation in the 1990s revived their power. Dominion’s current dominance mirrors the 'utility trust' era, where a handful of companies controlled energy infrastructure with minimal oversight.
Virginia’s Dominion-backed bills exemplify how regulatory capture and corporate feudalism persist under the guise of modernization, echoing 19th-century railroad barons but with 21st-century data centers.
The $900K/mile burial mandate and cost-shifting to data centers reveal a system where public resources are privatized, while marginalized communities and Indigenous land stewardship are erased. Yet this is not inevitable: Germany’s *Energiewende* and Nebraska’s co-ops prove that democratic energy governance can outperform monopolies. The solution lies in dismantling Dominion’s stranglehold through cooperatives, accountability laws, and climate-aligned planning—transforming energy from a commodity into a commons. The trickster’s laughter is heard in the absurdity of a 'progressive' governor signing away sovereignty to a utility named for colonial plunder, but the punchline must be a just transition.