Gov.’s Inaugural Energy Officer Will Address Rising Energy Costs

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently appointed attorney Josephus Allmond to a cabinet-level chief energy officer position.

Allmond, a Duke law school graduate, most recently served as a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville. He will assume the newly created cabinet role to address rising energy costs, increase clean energy generation in Virginia and develop a statewide energy strategy, according to a news release. Allmond will work with the state secretary of trade and commerce, the Virginia Department of Energy, PJM Interconnection and energy utility providers. Allmond is also a a citizen member of the state’s Commission on Energy Utility Regulation.

The role was created via an executive order to combat “myriad challenges across the electricity sector” in Virginia, including a 36 percent rise in electricity rates over the past five years.

“Today, I am taking decisive action to respond to the concerns I hear from Virginians about the high cost of energy,” Spanberger said in a recent statement. “It is critical to make sure families and businesses have access to affordable, reliable energy so that Virginia businesses can stay competitive, while also meeting our long-term clean energy goals.”

Allmond said in a recent statement, “By maximizing the use of our existing grid, making sure high energy use customers are not driving up energy bills for everyone else and prioritizing the deployment of more homegrown clean energy and battery storage, we will ensure that our energy future remains sustainable, predictable and — most importantly — affordable for Virginians.”

He serves on the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation’s board and local impact investing committee. He received the Dr. Marcus L. Martin Leadership Award from 100 Black Men of Central Virginia, which seeks to eliminate the achievement gap of Black male students in grades K-12.