RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Latest on a legal challenge to a 2015 law involving electric rates (all times local):
12:55 p.m.
Virginians could see their electric bills go down if the state Supreme Court decides a 2015 law temporarily banning state regulators from adjusting a portion of electric rates is unconstitutional.
A group of large industrial electric customers and others argued before the high court Friday against the 2015 law, saying the General Assembly had improperly stripped state regulators of their ability to lower higher-than-necessary rates.
Attorney General Mark Herring’s office argued the law was within the General Assembly’s proper powers. Supporters of the law say it’s needed to provide rate stability.
Former Virginia attorneys general Ken Cuccinelli and Andrew P. Miller said at a news conference after the hearing that the law was a giveaway to electric monopolies Dominion Resources and Appalachian Power and should be overturned.
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6:07 a.m.
The Virginia Supreme Court is set to hold a hearing on whether a law temporarily banning state regulators from adjusting a portion of electric rates is constitutional.
A group of large industrial electric customers is challenging the 2015 law, which critics have called a costly giveaway to electric monopolies Dominion Resources and Appalachian Power.
The law is costing a typical Dominion residential customer an extra $68 a year on their bill, according to one group’s calculations.
Supporters of the law say it has helped shield the state from potential rate spikes due to uncertainty around carbon regulations.
Opponents of the law, including former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, are planning a news conference after the Friday morning court hearing.
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