Monday, September 8th, 2025

Clean Virginia Expert Testifies in Support of Market-based Profit Level for Dominion; Opposes Dominion’s Proposed 10.4% Return on Equity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kendl Kobbervig, Clean Virginia Communications Director
[email protected] | (608) 575-8798

September 8, 2025

Clean Virginia Expert Testifies in Support of Market-based Profit Level for Dominion; Opposes Dominion’s Proposed 10.4% Return on Equity

RICHMOND, VA – Clean Virginia’s expert witness testified today in Dominion Energy’s 2025 rate case before the State Corporation Commission (SCC), evaluating the utility’s request to raise its return on equity (ROE) from 9.7% to 10.4% and to adopt a 52.1% equity ratio.

Mark Ellis, testifying on behalf of Clean Virginia, recommended the SCC approve a market-based, lower ROE of 6.01% and an equity ratio of 57.8%. Adopting these recommendations would reduce Dominion’s overall revenue requirement by approximately $470 million per year, translating to approximately $250 million annually in savings for residential customers.

Ellis is a Senior Fellow for Utilities at the American Economic Liberties Project and has more than 15 years of experience as a former utility executive.

His testimony states that Dominion’s proposed ROE exceeds the company’s actual cost of equity and is based on financial models that overstate risk and inflate customer costs.

Key points from the testimony:

  • A 6.01% ROE more accurately reflects Dominion’s market-based cost of capital.
  • ROEs approved for utilities across the country have generally exceeded actual costs of equity.
  • Utilities with high market-to-book ratios, which reflect how the market values a company relative to its net asset value, deliver returns well above what is needed to attract investors.
  • Dominion’s proposed capital structure lacks supporting analysis and does not evaluate alternatives that could lower customer costs.

Read the full testimony here.

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Clean Virginia is a nonpartisan advocacy nonprofit with an affiliated political action committee, the Clean Virginia Fund. Clean Virginia works to end utility monopoly corruption in politics to promote clean, affordable energy and a government that works for all Virginians.