Wouldn’t North Carolina be better off, and have lower electricity rates, if we allowed competition in the market and stopped protecting Duke’s monopoly? NC WARN and the John Locke Foundation, two groups vastly different in their political philosophies, have been asking that question of each other, each believing the answer to be yes.
Duke/Kochs' Control of Government
Duke Energy and others in the energy industry consistently use deceptive public relations – and millions of customer dollars – to distort the debate over important decisions. Duke’s control over NC state government is significant. We must face this “inconvenient truth” in order to make the shift to clean, safe energy. This corporate influence has, in the words of Dr. James Hansen, wounded our democracy.
Particularly egregious are efforts by Duke, the Koch brothers and other industry powers to slow the growth of solar energy and, in North Carolina, to prevent competition from third-party providers of no-upfront-cost solar deals that put solar energy within reach of many more homeowners and businesses. Another good example of corporate power is the passage in some states of Construction Work in Progress laws that allow utilities to charge customers in advance for building expensive new plants that aren’t even needed.
In 2015, Duke Energy, the Koch Brothers and others successfully kept the Energy Freedom bill bottled up in committee at the NC legislature. The bill would have opened up NC to third-party solar deals. Read about our 2015 Duke Hates Solar campaign in support of the bill.
Read about our Solar Freedom project at Faith Community Church in Greensboro — a test case in the state’s ban on third-party sales of electricity.
Direct Appeals for Dialogue with Duke Energy
NC WARN has repeatedly reached out to Duke Energy executives, seeking to collaborate with them on moving away from obstructionism and toward a clean energy future. A few examples are listed here.
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Strange Bedfellows to Call for Electricity Competition — News Release from NC WARN
In a state where economic, energy and environmental concerns grow more intensely intertwined, the assertive environmental nonprofit group NC WARN is working with the conservative nonprofit John Locke Foundation to sponsor two public forums calling for increased competition in the electricity market.
Will Duke Energy & the Koch Brothers Kill North Carolina’s Growing Solar Industry?
NC WARN Asks Whether Duke Energy Withdrew from ALEC’s Solar-Hating Energy Agenda – or Just from ALEC
Is Duke Energy Promoting Carolina Solar – or Just Pretending To? — News Release from NC WARN
NC Voters Want Competition in Electricity Market — News Release from NC WARN
Regulators Bless Duke’s Overcharging Strategy, Discriminatory Rates, and Backroom Dealmaking — News Release from NC WARN
How Duke fleeced Florida customers for $1.5 billion — WTSP News 10 (Tampa)
On Thursday, Duke Energy Florida (formerly Progress Energy) announced that the company would pull the plug on its future Levy Co. nuclear plant. And the money the company has been collecting from customers for years — and will continue to collect until 2018 — will go toward Duke Energy’s expenses and profits.
