Virginia Energy Consumer Trust (The Trust) was established to educate, provide a forum, and amplify the voice of energy consumers living and working in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Trust is charting a new path forward toward Energy Justice where the principles of reliable, affordable, secure, and sustainable energy are equally assured for all Virginian consumers.

The Trust works to provide a clearer understanding of how energy markets, legislation, regulation, and executive action impacts residential, commercial, and industrial consumers.

The Trust is committed to Environmental and Conservation principals and practices, including; clean air, clean water, protecting the Commonwealth’s land, and wildlife, that has been entrusted to us to preserve for the next generation. The Trust understands that managing these natural resources requires open, transparent, and data-driven decisions that embrace energy justice for all energy consumers. Energy is crucial to powering everything from our homes, cars, and schools to our businesses, national defense, and public infrastructure.

The Trust aims to restore the voice of the Virginia energy consumer – the small business owner, the retiree, the veteran, the military family, the truck driver, the retailer, the home maker, the farmer, the production worker, the waterman, the dockworker, the programmer, etc. 

So, what is Energy Justice?

Energy Justice is a set of principles that establish common ground and guide decision makers to not favor or put any individual or groups of individuals at an environmental, financial, safety and health, and security advantage or disadvantage.

The principles the VECT follows include

• Availability of sufficient, high quality energy resources

• Affordability and Access for all including the impoverished in a community

• Due Process, ensuring human rights are not ignored in the pursuit, generation, and distribution of energy.

• Sustainability and Responsibility, including the duty to protect the environment, enhance conservation, and reduce threats of any kind to the state’s citizens. It excludes untethered, swift exploitation resulting in uncalculated cost and risk resulting environment and conservation compromises, damage, and should prevent significant financial gain for wealthy Investor groups and others at the expense of rate payers.

• Inter-generational Resilience, so future generations are not negatively impacted by todays uncalculated and ignored risks, hasty decisions and the resulting damages, as well as from the effects of past energy systems

• National Security, providing for an integrated system of robust and reliable energy generation, grid, and distribution networks to ensure national safety, productivity, and the well-being of all citizens.

David DelGuercio, Executive Director

virginiaenergyconsumertrust@gmail.com    

Click on a question to learn more about energy in the Commonwealth.

The Trust’s mission is to educate and empower energy consumers to challenge the binary choice of supporting diverse and affordable energy resources or protecting the environment. Virginians overwhelmingly support reliable, affordable, secure, and sustainable energy. The Trust is the voice for all Virginia consumers that believe in energy justice and environmental stewardship equally.

To learn more or get involved, check out our Take Action page for advocacy campaigns, Reports page, research, and Educational Resources . Contact us at virginiaenergyconsumertrust@gmail.com  or VA Energy Consumer Trust P.O. Box 1555 Richmond, VA 23218.