Tell Gov Stein to rein in Duke Energy!
Take ActionTuesday’s revelation that repair of the broken Crystal River nuclear plant will cost up to $3.4 billion – far higher than Progress Energy had claimed during its merger with Duke Energy – comes as little surprise. The riveting question now for the NC Utilities Commission is: Did Duke know this before the merger closed on July 2, but withhold it because its impacts on NC ratepayers could derail the merger?
See Zapata Engineering’s review summary
Controversial rate hikes by Duke Energy Carolinas in 2009 and 2011 revealed a pattern of activity apparently designed to overcharge North Carolina electricity customers millions of dollars annually, energy watchdog group NC WARN said today. The group said Duke is either deliberately attempting to gouge ratepayers or suffers gross incompetence across its legal and accounting departments. It urged Attorney General Roy Cooper to take action.
See NC WARN’s letter to Attorney General Cooper and Public Staff’s Robert Gruber
As Duke Energy continues its six-year PR campaign touting CEO Jim Rogers’ concerns about climate change and North Carolina’s economic health, long-range plans filed this month with state regulators contradict his professions. The plans reflect serial rate hikes to pay for an aggressive expansion of generating plants, and high carbon emissions for the next two decades.
Duke Energy seems to believe it can simply avoid making a substantive argument against NC WARN’s motion to reopen evidentiary hearings based on the utility’s withholding of information in its merger with Progress Energy. Possibly Duke believes the NC Utilities Commission will simply defer to its corporate giant-ness as Florida commissioners did this week in their “welcome Mr. CEO” session with Jim Rogers.
