Fact Check: Desperate Deeds Distorts McDonnell’s Record
-As Attorney General, McDonnell Saved Taxpayers Millions of Dollars on Utility Bills-
RICHMOND - In the latest of a string of negative ads released by his flagging campaign, Creigh Deeds is once again misleading voters on Bob McDonnell’s record and role as Attorney General in the re-regulation of Virginia’s electric utilities. During the bipartisan work on re-regulation legislation in the Commonwealth, the Office of the Attorney General brought together various parties to negotiate the bill with the understanding that, at all times, the OAG represented Virginia’s consumers.
Creigh Deeds himself voted for the re-regulation legislation.
In Virginia, rate increases are approved by the State Corporation Commission. The role of the Attorney General in those rate proceedings before the SCC was and is to represent Virginia’s consumers - not to approve rate increases. Creigh Deeds knows this. During McDonnell’s tenure as Attorney General, his office pushed for over $3.3 billion in savings for Virginia’s consumers. McDonnell was doing his job as consumer counsel in the system that Creigh Deeds voted to implement- and he did it well, saving Virginians hundreds of millions of dollars.
In response to the latest misleading attack ad from Creigh Deeds, McDonnell for Governor Communications Director J. Tucker Martin noted, “We know Creigh is desperate, but he should still treat Virginia voters with a little more respect. This negative ad sets a new standard for political duplicity. Creigh voted for the bill that allows utility companies to recoup expenses. The State Corporation Commission approves all increases, not the Attorney General’s office. Given that Creigh ran for Attorney General he knows that. We guess he just chose to ignore it. As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell served as consumer counsel, and secured Virginians nearly $300 million in utility rate savings. This ad is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Virginia. Finally, we must note the irony of Creigh Deeds, a cheerleader for Cap & Trade, talking about the cost of electricity. It is remarkable.”
Fact Check
Deeds Voted For the System He Now Decries:
Deeds is Intentionally Misleading Voters About How the Regulatory System Works:
- Re-regulation returned the utilities to their previous status as monopoly providers
- By law, they must be allowed to recover the reasonable and prudent costs of providing service, and a reasonable profit
- The role of the Attorney General in those rate proceedings before the SCC was and is to represent Virginia’s consumers, not to approve rate increases
- Bob McDonnell was doing his job as consumer counsel in the system that Creigh Deeds voted to implement
Deeds’ Ad Ignores the Hundreds of Millions in Savings Bob McDonnell Secured for Virginia Consumers:
- As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell stood up for Virginia consumers, recommending billions in savings, and saving citizens hundreds of millions
- From 2006 to 2008, APCo requested over $600 million in rate increases, and another $4 billion for a clean coal powered electricity generating plan in West Virginia
- Under the leadership of McDonnell, the OAG successfully limited these increases, saving consumers nearly $300 million