utilities

It’s the perfect setup for a late-night comedian’s monologue: The coronavirus is so serious it has President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreeing on something and caused the…

This week Bloomberg Energy issued an attention-grabbing report on a serious waste problem with wind turbines: retired turbine blades are clogging up landfills. This problem is only going…

It’s a feature in reporting about solar energy to discuss how dramatically its costs have declined. That tends to be misleading because solar is a completely unreliable resource on its…

A pending major federal rule change could create a positive change for people’s electricity bills. That could be good news, especially for North Carolinians. This fall, the Federal Energy Regulatory…

The News & Observer recently ran an op-ed from Froma Harrop arguing that renewable energy has become competitive with traditional energy resources. It’s a bold claim. For several decades…

House Bill 589, “Competitive Energy Solutions for NC,” would be a major restructuring of energy policy in North Carolina. Here is a brief look into select aspects of the…

RALEIGH – A state government agency has failed its duty by not representing N.C. electricity customers’ interests. That’s the key criticism of the Public Staff in a new John Locke…

The Public Staff is an independent government agency whose role is to represent the interests of electricity consumers before the Utilities Commission. However, as recent examples demonstrate, the Public Staff is acting more like an environmental advocate than a consumer advocate. The Public Staff has recommended a major new tax on consumers, possibly as large as $181 million annually. The Public Staff also has expressed support for wind power plants even though it would mean higher costs and an unreliable means of electricity for consumers. The agency needs major reforms so consumer interests are truly protected, including term limits on the executive director of the Public Staff.

RALEIGH – North Carolina electricity customers could pay an extra $181 million a year, thanks to the efforts of a consumer advocate that’s supposed to represent customers’ interests. That’s according…

The North Carolina Public Utilities Commission is considering charging an extra fee, separate from existing rates, to electric utility customers. This extra charge will help support what is called a “public benefits fund.” The fund would support programs that have nothing to do with the supply of electricity. Consumers would be required to pay the “fee” if they want to receive electricity, and the more electricity they use, the higher their fee will become. To environmental extremists and other proponents of this extra fee, the use of electricity, which allows us to warm our homes and function in modern society, is a “sin” and needs to be reduced.