Late yesterday the NC Utilities Commission effectively denied NC WARN’s November motion calling for an evidence-based hearing over Duke Energy’s hotly contested 15-year plan to limit renewable power, constantly raise power bills and greatly expand its use of climate-wrecking fracked gas.
Duke's 15-Year Plan
Duke Energy’s Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) are the planning documents the corporation must submit to the NC Utilities Commission. From 2013 to 2015, NC WARN published A Responsible Energy Future for North Carolina, which presented a realistic, clean alternative to Duke Energy’s IRPs. In 2017, we ramped up our arguments by asking engineer Bill Powers to analyze the state’s electricity generation and propose a cleaner path. Learn more about Bill’s NC Clean Path 2025 report. We will continue to argue at the Utilities Commission against Duke’s IRPs, which call for continued burning of climate-killing fossil fuels into the foreseeable future.
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SENATE BILL 559 — News & Observer
Letter to the Editor by Jim Warren. Duke Energy’s Senate Bill 559 is indeed a Trojan Horse (oped June 1). The bill – which could be worth tens of billions for Duke – is as lousy as the deceptive process pushing it forward.
Duke Energy’s power play could cost NC consumers – News & Observer by Industry Leader
Duke Energy is pushing a Trojan horse – which, while disguised as legislation to give state regulators more flexibility, would permit Duke to earn excessive profits at customers’ expense without the comprehensive scrutiny it currently receives from regulators.
Democrat Dan Blue should address his conflict of interest with Duke Energy — News & Observer
[NC WARN] says Blue, a Wake County Democrat and the Senate minority leader, has a glaring conflict of interest. He is the lead sponsor of legislation, Senate Bill 559, that would change the state’s utility commission’s rate-setting structure even as Blue’s law firm — which includes his two sons — is representing a holding company tied to Duke Energy in eminent domain cases related to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Public Energy Enemy No. 1 — News Release from NC WARN and EWG
Duke Energy is the largest investor-owned electric utility in the U.S. But a new report by Environmental Working Group reveals another distinction: Its puny investments in renewable energy, schemes to penalize customers who want to go solar, and environmental record make Duke public energy enemy No. 1.
Good for planning ahead or padding profits? Critics fight a plan for Duke Energy rates – News & Observer
Debate over a controversial proposal on electricity rates ratcheted up this week with two environmental groups’ full-page newspaper ad asking the state Senate’s top-ranking Democrat, Dan Blue, to end his support for a Duke Energy bill and stop taking the company’s “dirty money.”The North Carolina Conservation Network was calling residents Monday, asking them to register their opposition to Senate Bill 559, which it described as a “blank check for Duke Energy.”
Legislators Should Reject Duke Energy Deception and Annual Rate Hike Bill — News Release from EJNC
Senate Bill 559 is a bait & switch for the rejected $13 billion grid scheme and $10 billion in coal ash costs – further proof that it’s time to end the Duke monopoly.
Critics challenge Duke Energy’s long-range plan. Will it make a difference this time? — Energy News Network
Every two years, critics blast Duke Energy’s long-term generation plan in North Carolina, decrying it for containing too much coal and gas and too little renewable power. Each time, regulators approve the company’s blueprint with few if any changes.
Cooper’s Appointments to Utilities Commission — News Release from EJNC
A coalition of 14 environmental justice groups today called on North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper to appoint members to the North Carolina Utilities Commission that do not have ties to the fossil fuel industry and will protect public health and promote clean energy.
N.C. Needs Energy Choice, Not Monopoly Control — Goldsboro Daily News
North Carolina’s electricity system is broken, and the only way to fix it is to end Duke Energy’s state-approved monopoly control. Based in Charlotte, Duke provides 90% of our state’s electricity. For too long, its executives have abused their monopoly privilege and the people of North Carolina have paid the price.