This editorial, written by the Lynchburg News & Advance, and posted to the Free Lance-Star. discusses the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Dominion Energy.
This is an excellent piece. There is an obvious flaw in the article’s title however. The word “still” implies it was once needed. It has only been needed by Dominion Energy’s stockholders, no one else, certainly not captive ratepayers.
You should know that FERC, the Federal agency with oversight over pipeline investments grants pipeline builders a 15% rate of return on these type capital investments. FERC has only rejected one pipeline in 30+ years, and the constant court injunctions show how little oversight they actually do over such projects. They are clearly pro industry, regardless of the impact on our climate or people.
Building the pipeline would allow Dominion to increase its profit percentage by 50%. Their currently allowed profit percentage is approximately 9%. They have recently requested that their profit percentage for shareholders be increased from approximately 9% to over 10%. Plus the increased rate for capital investments.
So why wouldn’t they want to build a completely unnecessary pipeline? When was the last time you received a 15% profit on your investments?
And all that is without considering where we are today, in a climate crisis where fossil fuels are destroying our environment, and poisoning our air water, land and health. Google pipeline disasters, or fracking’s impact on health, or fracking and earthquakes. Time to wake up and smell the impending disaster.