Jim Warren

Gov. Pat McCrory, himself a long-time employee of Duke until his retirement, came up with a plan for regulation and cleanup that was underwhelming.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper has become the latest Duke Energy critic to urge state lawmakers to spare the public from paying billions of dollars Duke would incur if the legislature forces the power company to fix leaky coal ash lagoons.

Disposing of a production byproduct is a business expense, and its cost should be borne by the company and its shareholders. The bill requires Duke to pay for its cleanup of the Dan and any future spills, but ratepayers could be on the hook for the much bigger costs of moving the ash.

A non-profit says if Duke Energy makes five business adjustments, the cost of the clean-up of its 33 coal ash dumps in North Carolina wouldn’t have to be passed on to consumers.

Duke Energy shouldn’t reach any deeper into your pocket to cover the cost of solving its coal ash problems across North Carolina, according to an Ohio-based nonprofit.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says in a new report that Duke could pay for the multibillion-dollar cleanup of its ash operations by additional borrowing, using cash from operations or the dividend and by putting off some capital projects.

A new analysis of the financial position of Duke Energy and Duke Energy Carolinas shows that the companies can afford to pay the expected $2 to $10 billion for coal ash cleanup in North Carolina without new rate hikes for their customers.