Spanberger’s Backdoor Carbon Tax Will Raise Electricity Prices

Virginia families are about to face higher electricity bills again, and this time it is by design.

Governor Abigail Spanberger has moved to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate climate compact better known as RGGI. Supporters sell RGGI as a technical emissions program. In reality, it functions as a backdoor carbon tax that directly raises electricity prices for households and businesses.

The track record is clear and it is not encouraging.

What RGGI Actually Does

RGGI requires power generators to purchase allowances for carbon emissions. Those costs do not stay with utilities. They are passed straight through to ratepayers in the form of higher electricity bills.

This is not theory. It is documented history.

Electricity rates in RGGI states rose 64 percent more than in non-RGGI states within eight years of the program’s creation. That gap reflects policy choice, not market forces.

Rejoining the program is expected to cost Virginia ratepayers $500 million per year, or roughly $1,100 per household. That is a recurring cost. Not a one-time adjustment.

Why Families Pay the Price

Electricity is not optional. Families cannot substitute away from it. Small businesses cannot operate without it. When policymakers add artificial costs to power generation, households absorb the hit.

Higher electricity prices ripple through the economy. They raise housing costs, increase grocery prices, and make it harder for manufacturers and employers to stay competitive. These effects fall hardest on lower-income households, who already spend a larger share of their income on energy.

Calling RGGI a climate solution does not change its economic impact. It is a tax collected indirectly through utility bills, with no meaningful way for families to avoid it.

A Policy Choice With Predictable Results

Virginia already tested this experiment. The results were higher costs and no measurable benefit to affordability. Rejoining RGGI repeats the same mistake.

If the goal is lower energy costs and a stronger economy, imposing a backdoor carbon tax moves policy in the opposite direction. Electricity affordability matters. Policymakers should not ignore clear evidence simply because the costs are hidden from view.

Virginia families will see the result every month when the power bill arrives.