The Mounting Pressure from Climate and Community Advocates to Reign in Duke’s Carbon Plan

Heat is building on North Carolina regulators to put the brakes on Duke Energy’s runaway plans for a massive and costly expansion of methane gas plants and pipelines.

Last week, the NC League of Conservation Voters Foundation (NCLCVF) submitted a petition on behalf of more than a thousand North Carolinians, calling for the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) to reject Duke Energy’s proposed Carbon Reduction Plan, and instead establish a more affordable plan that rapidly transitions our state to a clean energy economy.

Duke Energy is required by North Carolina law to put forward a carbon reduction plan every two years that provides the least expensive and most reliable energy possible, while achieving a seventy percent (70%) reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from public utilities’ electric facilities from 2005 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Instead, Duke has proposed the largest buildout of dirty fossil gas in the nation, along with incredibly expensive, unproven, small modular nuclear reactors, and proposes to push the deadline for interim compliance back to 2035.

“The people of North Carolina demand that the NC Utilities Commission hold Duke Energy accountable and reject their dirty, expensive carbon plan. Instead, we all want the Utilities Commission to require Duke to deliver cheaper, cleaner power that doesn’t negatively impact our most vulnerable communities,” said Michelle “Meech” Carter, director of clean energy campaigns for NCLCVF.

1,066 Petition Signatures Helps Build Heat

The petition language is as follows:

“We, the undersigned, strongly urge the NC Utilities Commission to reject Duke Energy’s proposed NC Carbon Plan, and instead establish a robust and more affordable plan that rapidly transitions our state to a clean energy economy. Given the urgent state of the climate crisis and the soaring cost of energy, the Commission must investigate and choose the best ways to reduce carbon emissions as fast as possible, while also minimizing cost and ensuring equity. Duke’s current plan does not do that.

We believe the Utilities Commission must create a plan that:

• Meets the goals laid out in the Energy Solutions for North Carolina (HB 951) law; specifically, the plan must reduce electric sector carbon emissions 70% by 2030 (relative to 2005 levels), and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

• Adheres to the “least cost/most reliable” standard mandated by the law by incorporating sufficient resources that both increase renewable energy supply and reduce demand by utilizing all available low-carbon technologies and mechanisms that abate costs, including taking full advantage of benefits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

• Avoids ongoing inequitable impacts in communities around the state.”

Read the complete NCLCVF news release here.