Effort to reinstate electric bill refunds in Va. fails

By The Associated Press
January 15, 2018 | 8:36 PM

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia Senate panel has rejected a bill that would allow state regulators to order refunds to customers of the state’s two largest electric utilities.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee voted Monday to kill a bill by Democratic Sen. Chap Petersen that would essentially repeal a 2015 law that temporarily barred state regulators from adjusting certain rates of electric monopolies, even if they made excessive profits.

The law has allowed both Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power to hold on to profits they otherwise would have had to return, including $130 million in refunds Dominion’s customers would be due on bills paid in 2015 and 2016.

Sens. Frank Wagner and Dick Saslaw, both strong allies of Dominion, plan on introducing legislation aimed at overhauling utility regulation later this week.

Breaking the silence around suicide: A Virginia mother shares thoughts on prevention

By Kate Ryan
September 1, 2026 | 4:22 AM

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Betsy Stephenson, an Alexandria, Virginia, resident and a mother who lost her son to suicide, wants people to talk about it. "By not talking about suicide, we are not going to make it go away. In fact, I think that we could inadvertently give it a little more power than it deserves," she told WTOP. One of the things that Stephenson wants families to know is that people who are struggling can appear to be doing well. "You can be very high-functioning as a depressed person or an anxious person," she said. "You can be connected socially. You can be doing well at school or work. You can be making plans, smiling, laughing, engaged, but still be struggling deeply, you know, cosmically, inside."

Related Stories