Duke Energy bill needs closer look

Opponents from all corners of the state are raising concerns about a Duke Energy bill at the North Carolina General Assembly that would give the monopoly utility even more control over setting electric rates.

Consumer groups, including AARP, are critical of changes that could lead to more increases to customers’ electric bills. The state’s largest companies and employers — from Walmart and Google to leading manufacturers — oppose the legislation as well, leading some to question whether lawmakers are selecting corporate winners and losers. There is a lot of merit to these arguments.

But there is another issue that has largely been left out of the debate. That is the serious risk that Duke Energy’s bill will leave the company locked into using yesterday’s technology, including outdated forms of energy.

At the heart of Duke’s proposal is a provision that would allow the company to adopt five-year spending plans for our electric grid, rather than seek approval year by year. That means reduced oversight of the company with less opportunity for public input on billions of dollars that could be spent on coal ash cleanup, power plant construction or antiquated grid upgrades. But it also means Duke Energy will have fewer incentives to keep up with clean energy innovations.

In North Carolina, we’ve seen first-hand how quickly energy technology advances. Steep drops in solar panel and battery storage costs and the growth of electric vehicles are driving a boom in clean energy jobs across the state.

But if Duke Energy is allowed to lock in five-year spending plans and associated rate increases, the utility will have little motivation to go back and update the plan in response to advances in new technology. The end result is a power company that fails to keep up with the pace of energy innovation at the expense of customer’s electric bills and North Carolina’s growing, clean energy economy.

Duke’s bill is also bad news for North Carolina’s birds already threatened by extreme weather and rising temperatures. Iconic birds like the Brown-headed Nuthatch at your backyard feeder and the Brown Pelicans that patrol our beaches are increasingly vulnerable, and depend on our state’s transition to cleaner energy. Locking in yesterday’s outdated energy technology will only increase the pressures these species face as they cope with a changing climate.

In the interest of birds, customers’ electric bills and the future of North Carolina’s energy economy, lawmakers should slow down and take a closer look at this legislation. It is time to study the bill and engage more stakeholders to truly understand its implications, rather than speed through the approval process for the benefit of one company.

Andrew Hutson is the executive director of Audubon North Carolina.