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Energy
“Is
this still
Durham, NC – A clean elections watchdog group reported today
that two power companies pushing a controversial energy bill with sweeping
implications for North Carolina have invested heavily in key state lawmakers
who are trying to rush the legislation.
Democracy
The report, compiled by researcher Bob Hall, also shows that legislators pushing hard for the energy bill have other financial conflicts of interest. Financial disclosure reports of legislators indicate at least 7 of the 50 state Senators have stock valued at $10,000 or more in Duke or Progress Energy and 6 work for law firms representing “public utilities” or “utility regulation” interests.
Among the top financial recipients are several who have aggressively promoted bill S-3, including Senators Dan Clodfelter, Tony Rand and David Hoyle, and House members Pryor Gibson and Drew Saunders. Rep. Saunders will chair tomorrow’s Public Utilities Committee, and is expected to pass the energy bill in minutes.
“Is this still
Even House Energy Committee Chair Pricey Harrison expressed concern this week over press reports that the bill was largely written by Progress Energy lawyers.
Scores of organizations – including all but one
environmental nonprofit – from across the political and economic spectrum are
vigorously opposing the energy bill.
They insist the 27-page, highly complex legislation is being rushed
toward approval before legislators and others can understand its ramifications
for
Some lawmakers have publicly complained both of pressure to
speed the bill and of lack of clarity, along with grossly conflicting
interpretations of key financial and environmental measures. One of the most contentious involves
transferring the risk for new coal and nuclear power plants to customers –
which could hike power bills before the plants are built. The Charlotte Observer reported last week
that Duke
Another S-3 measure is linked to separate hog waste legislation, which is being reported as a victory for the state, even though river protection and environmental justice groups are furious at being undermined in their years-long effort to clean up over two-thousand hog cesspools. S-3 would enable the hog industry to avoid cleaning up the lagoons, and instead to put cheap covers over a few of them, then sell methane for electricity.
The power companies and their legislative allies have been pushing for quick approval of S-3 since its emergence in late June. NC WARN and other critics charge that the utilities crafted the bill strongly in their own favor, than added a variety of “sweeteners” to gain approval from a handful of special interests. One under-reported measure would exempt large industry from paying tens of millions annually in electricity taxes – which critics call a perverse disincentive that works against energy efficiency.
Bob Hall reports that, “Year after year, the PACs of Duke Energy and Progress Energy rank among the 10 largest in the state and among the 5 largest sponsored by a single company. The utilities’ gain influence through many means, including their large employment, investment, and tax payments, their gifts to nonprofits and universities, their business ties to policymakers, the scope of their expertise and knowledge, and their direct lobbying.”
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See the report by Democracy NC:
http://www.democracy-nc.org/moneyresearch/2007/utility2.pdf
NC WARN is a grassroots non-profit using science and activism to tackle climate change and reduce hazards to public health and the environment from nuclear power and other polluting electricity production, and working for a transition to safe, economical energy in North Carolina.