Author: Harrison Horst
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Harrison Horst, Senior Contributor
Harrison is a freelance writer and podcaster in the thick of his first major podcast project, called "Shifting Climates." Though his degree is in sociology, Harrison found himself drawn to communications in college and ended up editing his school newspaper, The Weather Vane, at Eastern Mennonite University. Originally from central Pennsylvania, Harrison enjoys the pace of life in Harrisonburg but hopes, in the short term, to travel and live in east Asia.
With one nat’l championship in hand and a shot at another, JMU teams successfully ride growing e-sports wave.
On a Friday afternoon, six members of the James Madison University Overwatch team gather around a TV screen, watching tape from a “scrim session” – gamerspeak for scrimmage – earlier in the week. “Look where we are right now. We’re really far back,” says Mark “Sanity” Johnson, the team captain, pointing at the screen. “We should be here right now.”
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HEC General Manager explains utility budget shortfall that city schools’ solar project is expected to cause
As reported last week in The Citizen, HEC says the planned schools project will result in a $225,000 net operating loss to its budget – even though the electricity generated by the schools’ solar panels will reduce the amount of electricity HEC buys from Dominion. That’s because HEC doesn’t sell electricity to the city schools, or any of its customers, at the same price it buys it.
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After a petition, press conference, and questions about process, city council postpones vote on HEC nominations
The once-routine practice of appointing members of the Harrisonburg Electric Commission (HEC) attracted unusual attention this week, as some city residents raised concerns about transparency and the commission’s commitment to the city’s sustainability goals. As a result, on Tuesday night, the city council postponed action for a second month in a row on two appointments to the five-member commission that governs the city’s electric utility.
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Facing newly energized opposition, Del. Tony Wilt announces reelection bid for his 26th District seat
On Tuesday, surrounded by prominent fellow Republicans on the courthouse steps, Del. Tony Wilt announced his intent to seek a fifth term representing the 26th District in the Virginia House of Delegates. His announcement follows recent campaign launches by two Democrats hoping to face him in next year’s general election. In his remarks on Tuesday, Wilt emphasized a grassroots approach to the upcoming campaign.
City schools to install largest solar array of any public school system in Virginia
By Harrison Horst // contributor On Tuesday night, the Harrisonburg City School Board voted unanimously to work with the solar energy company Secure Futures to install a 4-megawatt (MW) solar project spread across five city schools––at no cost to the school system or the city. The decision comes nearly a year after HCPS released a request for …
Brent Finnegan announces second bid to represent city in House of Delegates
The next election season has already begun. Last week, Harrisonburg resident Brent Finnegan announced his campaign as a Democratic candidate for the 26th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. In his campaign announcement video, Finnegan focuses on what he calls “kitchen table” issues, including the rising cost of healthcare, overcrowded schools, and paychecks that can no longer pay the bills.
As solar panels keep popping up, “affordable” and “renewable” emerge as potentially conflicting priorities for electric grid
For the moment, HEC’s guiding mission is to provide “affordable and reliable” electricity to the citizens of Harrisonburg – and using price as a metric, it has been wildly successful. “Right now, for last year and this current year, we have the lowest residential rate in the state of Virginia, and have always been in the top two or three for as long as I can remember,” said Brian O’Dell, HEC’s General Manager. Right now, one kilowatt-hour of electricity costs about 10.5 cents in Harrisonburg.
But as behind-the-meter solar generation in Harrisonburg continues to rise, “affordable” and “renewable” may become conflicting priorities because of how HEC – and most other utilities – structure their rates.
