The Commission has beard testimony from a number of persons at its seven meetings relating to energy problems and possible solutions. The abundance of energy policies at the federal level make it difficult for the State to understand its role in the energy picture and follow through with directives for conservation, allocation, etc. Many complain that due to overly strict federal regulations the coal reserves in Virginia are underutilized and that the Commonwealth should have as its top priority an increase in the utilization of this natural resource. A number of businesses were targeted at the federal level several years ago to convert their boilers from coal to oil because of air quality problems. Now these same companies are being asked to convert back to coal burning devices because of economic and international upheavals. A combination of high spot market oil prices and unstable conditions in foreign countries such as Iran has resulted in record high utility bills in Virginia and across the nation. The emphasis now, and a strong one born of necessity, is on conservation and alternate sources of energy such as resource recovery from the solid waste stream, synthetic fuels, nuclear power, low head hydroelectric power, supplemental gasohol for transportation and solar energy. The Commission has attempted during the past year to investigate available alternative sources and make any legislative recommendations which it deems necessary to advance these sources, thus lessening the State's and the nation's dependence upon foreign sources of oil.

As an example it has been estimated that resource recovery in the form of energy on a national basis could replace approximately 5% of the energy now supplied by foreign oil. An equivalent amount would be the shortage experienced during the summer of 1979 when Iran was caught up in a revolution and no longer producing or shipping oil to this country.

At the present time due to a licensing moratorium on the operation of new nuclear power plants the North Anna II station is inoperative. As a result approximately 8 million barrels of oil on an annual basis must be used in place of the power originally to be derived from Station No. II costing between $12-14 million per month.

There follows in this report an account of Commission activities including its meetings and deliberations.