By Sue Sturgis
This is a critical moment for North Carolina’s energy future, as a packed public hearing held in Raleigh this week showed — and there are growing concerns that the politician who might get to make key decisions about it has significant conflicts of interest.
On Monday, Feb. 11, about 180 people attended a N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) hearing on Duke Energy’s plan for meeting its customers’ power needs over the next two decades. Dozens of citizens testified against Duke’s proposed Integrated Resource Plan, which calls for generating most of its energy from polluting sources: dirty coal plants (24 percent), natural gas plants (29 percent), and risky nuclear plants (29 percent). Efficiency would account for only 4.5 percent of Duke’s generation mix, while wind and solar would make up only 2.25 percent. The plan would cost Duke’s customers dearly, as the company — which supplies electricity to over 95 percent of North Carolina customers since its merger with Progress Energy — would quadruple rates within a decade.
Speaker after speaker called on commissioners to require Duke to increase its generation from renewable sources such as solar and to encourage greater efficiency.
But there are mounting concerns that the public interest will get even less consideration if North Carolina’s legislature gets its way and gives Gov. Pat McCrory (R) sole control over the commission’s membership.
A controversial bill recently introduced in the General Assembly would sweep out the current members of key state regulatory commissions including the NCUC and replace them with members appointed by the governor and/or the legislature. In the case of the NCUC, Senate Bill 10 specifies that the new appointments would be made by the governor and confirmed by the legislature. It would also downsize the commission from seven members to five. The bill has already passed the Senate and is now advancing through the House, both of which are controlled by veto-proof Republican super-majorities.
