NC WARN
Utilities Commission makes it tougher for companies to charge political expenditures to ratepayers
The NC Utilities Commission closed several, but not all, loopholes in rules prohibiting public utilities, notably Duke Energy, from passing along lobbying and advertising expenses to ratepayers, according to a ruling issued last week. This "discretionary spending" includes advertising that appears on social media, as well as promotional materials that serve only to burnish a utility’s image, compete with other utilities for customers, and are unrelated to providing service to the public.
New energy report could yield a win-win for climate and pocketbooks
COVID taught us a lot about living in crisis mode. The biggest lesson: address crises early enough to avoid complete disruption of our lives. Let’s start with the climate crisis. If we cannot slow climate change before certain tipping points are reached, changes will accelerate of their own accord and disastrous consequences will mount. There will be worse weather extremes, food shortages, mass migrations of people escaping rising seas and extinction of an estimated one-third of all species by 2050.
Before state Supreme Court, Duke Energy lawyer calls NC WARN’s solar agreement with church “almost exploitative”
The sun has risen and set nearly 1,100 times since NC WARN installed a small solar power system on the roof of Faith Community Church in Greensboro. And since that time in May 2015, the Durham-based environmental nonprofit has been fined $60,000 by the NC Utilities Commission — the penalty was later rescinded — and has […]
NC WARN taking its solar case vs Duke Energy to state Supreme Court
The question of whether the nonprofit environmental group NC WARN behaved like a public utility in selling a small amount of solar power to a Greensboro church will now be decided by the state Supreme Court. NC WARN filed its intent to appeal today. Three judges from the state appeals court ruled against the nonprofit […]
Editorial: NC WARN is right in its solar power lawsuit against Duke Energy
Last week, a split state Court of Appeals panel ruled in favor of Duke Energy and against the consumer watchdog group NC WARN in a dispute over whether it could generate solar power from panels it had installed on a Greensboro church roof. This morning’s lead editorial in the Greensboro News & Record does a […]
NC appeals court rules against NC WARN in Greensboro solar power case
The nonprofit environmental group NC WARN was acting as a public utility when it provided solar power to a Greensboro church, the NC Appellate Court ruled 2-1 today. The decision favored Duke Energy, Dominion Energy and the NC Public Utilities Commission public staff, which had argued that NC WARN’s financial arrangement was infringing on the […]
NC Statewide Day of Action for Climate Change – find an event tonight
Nine cities are holding events this evening for today’s Statewide Day of Action for Climate Change. The events are part of a nationwide People’s Climate Movement. Looking for an event near you? Here they are – courtesy of N.C. Warn: Asheville Folks in Asheville will be holding a “Gathering for Climate Justice: Cultivating Resiliency.” The […]
Duke Energy’s dangerous assault on nonprofits
Be sure to check out the excellent and important op-ed in this morning’s edition of Raleigh’s News & Observer by Richard Clerkin, the Executive Director of the Institute for Nonprofits at N.C. State entitled “Duke Energy’s worrisome move to silence nonprofits.” In it, Clerkin decries Duke’s recent efforts to force environmental groups challenging its construction […]
Consumer/environmental advocates debunk Duke Energy’s anti-solar power claims
In case you missed it, the good folks at NC WARN are out with a new issue brief that takes Duke Energy to task for its latest efforts to derail the widespread deployment of solar power. As the release that accompanied the brief notes: “The Duke claim…is that, as more customers put solar panels on […]
House coal ash bill falls well short of what’s necessary
The North Carolina House passed a weakened version of the already inadequate Senate coal ash plan today and environmental experts quickly labeled the legislation as wholly inadequate. Here’s the rather measured statement from the folks at the NC Sierra Club: “After weeks of expectation and speculation, the House missed the opportunity to build on the […]
Duke Energy still doesn’t get it – maybe today’s protest will help
In a corporate “sustainability report,” Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good said yesterday that her company needs to “a better job of safely managing our coal ash ponds.” Uh, Earth to Lynn: That’s not gonna cut it. Duke doesn’t need to “manage” its ponds; it needs to get rid of them ASAP. As the experts at […]
Breaking: Court upholds Duke – Progress Energy merger
The state Court of Appeals has upheld the Utilities Commission’s approval of the Duke – Progress Energy merger in 2012, per an opinion released this morning. Writing for the court, Judge Douglas McCullough said: Where it is evident that the Commission considered the potential costs and risks of the merger and weighed them against the anticipated benefits, […]