RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia regulators have denied another large retailer's request to buy electricity generated by someone besides Dominion Energy, the state's largest electric monopoly.
The State Corporation Commission issued the denial Thursday. Costco had requested to aggregate its stores' total electric usage to meet the threshold needed under state law in order to buy its energy on the open market.
Costco said Dominion is charging excessive rates and could raise costs even more thanks to a 2018 state law the company helped write.
Regulators recently ruled against Walmart in a similar case, saying it would be unfair to let large companies ditch Dominion while forcing smaller customers to shoulder higher costs.
Dominion spokesman Rayhan Daudani said the company offers a great value and is pleased with the ruling.
