Climate Lobbying Overview: Dominion Energy appears to be engaging with mixed positions on U.S. climate policy on the federal and state level. Although the company states support for decarbonization targets, it continues to be critical of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) emissions trading scheme. Dominion’s opposition to fossil gas bans is reflective of its membership to the American Gas Association (AGA), which has led a campaign since 2019 to preempt electrification mandates, as well as the Edison Electric Institute, which continues to advocate for the long-term role of fossil gas in the energy mix.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Dominion appears to demonstrate limited and mixed top-line messaging on climate policy. During infrastructure bill negotiations in July 2021, Dominion signed a joint letter with C2ES to Congress advocating for “ambitious, durable climate policy.” In a March 2021 letter with the CEO Climate Dialogue, Dominion advocated to President Biden to set ambitious NDC emissions targets for 2030 and 2050. Dominion has also stated support for the Paris Agreement, most recently in its 2021 Climate Report.

Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Dominion demonstrates mixed positions on federal and state renewable energy policies. During an August 2022 earnings call, the company appeared to support the clean energy tax credits and decarbonization provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. Previously, Dominion signed a January 2022 joint letter organized by the American Clean Power Association that advocated to Congressional leadership to pass the Build Back Better Act’s clean energy tax credits. That same month, the company joined unsupportive comments by the Class of ’85 Regulatory Response Group on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methane proposal, which contrasts with Dominion’s earlier joint comments to the EPA in November 2019 that advocated for federal emissions standards. In July 2021, the company supported the reinstatement of the California waiver for vehicle emissions standards in joint comments to the EPA, emphasizing that a failure to do this could risk more stringent standards for other parts of the economy, specifically electric generating units.

After Virginia governor-elect Youngkin pledged in December 2021 to withdraw the state from RGGI, Dominion reiterated its opposition to the emissions scheme. During a May 2022 earnings call, CEO Blue emphasized the company’s position on Virginia’s role in the program, stating that “we’re concerned that Virginia’s linkage to the RGGI program through the Virginia carbon proposal would result in a financial burden on customers with no real mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions regionally.”

Positioning on Energy Transition: Dominion appears to be supporting a long-term role for fossil gas in the energy mix, with a focus on introducing gas ban preemption bills in Ohio and Utah. On the federal level, the company signed a May 2022 AGA joint letter to the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development which advocated for increased research and development funding toward fossil gas. Dominion states support for the transportation of electrification in its 2020 Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility Report, although the company’s Q4 2022 federal lobbying report reveals engagement on “natural gas vehicles” and “electric vehicles” without disclosing a clear position.

In its December 2022 Climate Report, Dominion expresses support for gas ban preemption at the state level promote fossil gas, stating that the company is “supporting legislation in our service territory that preserves consumer access to natural gas services.” According to February 2020 email communications records obtained by the Energy News Network, Dominion corresponded with representatives from other companies and trade associations, including the AGA, American Petroleum Institute, and several other utilities, to build support for fossil gas ban preemption legislation in Ohio. Dominion has also participated in other coalitions, according to the Guardian in August 2020, to block electrification in Ohio and possibly other jurisdictions. The company also appears to have engaged on the Utah gas ban preemption bill, as reported by Pew Charitable Trusts in January 2022. Dominion appears to be supporting fossil fuel infrastructure in other states: in November 2020, the LA Times reported that Dominion Energy was a funder of the Western States and Tribal Nations, an advocacy group promoting fossil fuel projects in Mexico and the western United States.

Industry Association Governance: Dominion has published a trade association review on its corporate website, however the disclosure falls considerably short of investor expectations, including in identifying and taking action on misalignments. Dominion is a member of several U.S. associations that have a history of strategic opposition to climate policy, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce. The company is also a member of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and the American Gas Association (AGA), which hold generally mixed and negative positions on climate policy, respectively. EEI supported the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits while previously engaging to amend the Build Back Better Act’s proposed Clean Electricity Performance Program, and AGA continues to push back on the Inflation Reduction Act’s building decarbonization provisions.

InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2023.