Some of the nation’s biggest retailers have been waging a regulatory war against Virginia’s powerful utility monopoly, Dominion Energy, saying that the state gives it too much freedom to raise electricity rates and earn profits. Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Harris Teeter, Target and Cox Communications have all petitioned the State Corporation Commission for permission to buy energy from sources other than Dominion.
The commission denied Costco’s request this week and denied Walmart’s in February, ruling that if those big companies leave the network, costs will only go up for everyone who remains. The other requests are likely to meet the same fate. But in their rulings, regulators have included a surprising message: The complaints are legitimate, and the companies should take their battle to the state legislature. Read more in the Washington Post.