Duke Energy, the North Carolina-based monopoly electric utility giant, is among the corporate sponsors of programming on WUNC, the flagship National Public Radio member station serving North Carolina’s Research Triangle Region, which includes the state capital of Raleigh. The Duke Energy-underwritten spots — third-party pieces read aloud by station personnel — are the target of a complaint that was filed this week with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the climate justice advocacy group NC WARN, which says the station is violating the agency’s rules for noncommercial radio.
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Federal Complaint Filed vs WUNC Radio Over Duke Energy Ads — News Release from NC WARN
Watchdog group NC WARN today is filing a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) charging that public radio station WUNC repeatedly airs sponsorship announcements by Duke Energy that violate rules for noncommercial stations. We are calling for the federal regulators to end the deceptive ads and require full disclosure of Duke Energy’s spending with the station.
See coverage of our complaint in Facing South
Is Natural Gas Really Helping the U.S. Cut Emissions? — Inside Climate News
Can natural gas be part of a climate change solution? That’s what the American Petroleum Institute argues in a new campaign it has launched ahead of this year’s elections, pushing back against some Democratic candidates who support bans on new development of oil and gas.
Renewables Beating Gas — NC WARN Letter to Gov Roy Cooper
This letter continues the flow of evidence that Duke Energy’s massive expansion of fracked gas is a reckless waste of money that’s harming humanity’s chances of averting runaway climate chaos. Today we are urging North Carolinians to tell Gov. Cooper to stop Duke Energy’s climate-wrecking gas expansion – starting with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Lawmakers’ utility-reform plans would target Duke Energy, Dominion monopolies in the Carolinas — Charlotte Business Journal
A group of legislators in the Carolinas wants the two states to work together on proposals to overhaul utility regulation and set up a regional transmission organization (RTO) to promote competition to the existing power monopolies established for Duke Energy and Dominion Power.
Why there’s a big fight brewing over Duke Energy’s power monopoly — Charlotte Business Journal
Concern about competition for energy production in the Carolinas has now led to a call by legislators in both states to consider broad utility reform.
N.A.A.C.P. Tells Local Chapters: Don’t Let Energy Industry Manipulate You — NY Times
The civil rights group is trying to stop state and local branches from accepting money from utilities that promote fossil fuels and then lobbying on their behalf.
Work at area power plants plays a role in Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike — News & Record
Duke Energy’s emphasis over the past year at two power plants in the Piedmont Triad has been on cleaning up coal ash, closing basins where the waste product had been submerged and relying more heavily on natural gas to make electricity.
Slow Burn: Wood pellets, climate change and North Carolina — News & Observer
This series on the wood pellet industry and the different views on the role of North Carolina forests in combating climate change took six months to put together, but drew on years of experience and reporting. It was produced in partnership with The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Duke agrees to largest coal ash cleanup in US after years of fighting with environmentalists — Utility Dive
Duke Energy has agreed to excavate the majority of its remaining coal ash, announcing a settlement with environmental groups… Eight of the utility’s 14 coal plant sites were already slated for full excavation and closure, but the fate of the final six and their eleven ponds has been the subject of tension with environmentalists and others across Duke’s North Carolina territory.