To the editor:

Imagine replacing your natural gas furnace, water heater, stove and dryer with electric appliances, all at once, with no financial help. How much would that set Virginians back? The answer: About $22.1 billion. These are the steep, dangerous expenses we would’ve seen if the Green New Deal had been approved.

We also would’ve lost thousands of family-sustaining jobs and billions in tax revenue, which help fund municipal services including schools, police, fire stations and road repairs. Long-distance travel times would’ve also been lengthened, since the proposal called for phasing out air travel in a hurry.

But often forgotten is how the proposal called for upgrading virtually every existing building nationwide to “maximum energy efficiency” within 10 years. That would’ve meant swapping the appliances above and unnecessarily increasing costs on cash-strapped families who already struggle to pay their energy bills.

Virginia needs an energy strategy that’s environmentally safe but also far more affordable, and the Green New Deal didn’t cut it.
Kevin Doyle

Virginia Director, Consumer Energy Alliance