As North Carolinians continue to grapple with rolling blackouts, rising energy bills, and recovery from a once-in-a-generation hurricane event, another pending environmental catastrophe is developing in our backyards.
On Monday, May 5, the North Carolina Utilities Commission will hold a public hearing to gather feedback on Duke Energy’s plans to build a second new methane gas power plant near its existing coal plant on Hyco Lake in Person County as part of the state’s decarbonization plan.
Methane is the primary component of “natural” gas. Widespread use of this type of fuel releases nitrogen oxides and methane gas, which are linked to asthma, lung disease, and other problems for human health and the environment, such as poor air quality and climate change. State law requires these plants to obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which authorizes a utility to construct a new facility in “the public interest.”
These new gas plants are baked into Duke Energy’s proposed “carbon plan.” House Bill 951 required the Commission to devise a plan by the end of 2022 that would cut carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The Commission delegated Carbon Plan development to Duke Energy, which has proposed a plan that fails to meet those legal requirements, unnecessarily postpones changes that could benefit the state’s environment right away, and doesn’t even provide the lowest possible cost to consumers.
Ironically, a Duke Energy-commissioned study revealed that by tripling solar and onshore wind capacity, the state could meet its carbon goals quicker, more cheaply, and with no additional methane gas power plants. Even with this knowledge, on January 31, Duke Energy filed for more gas power plants, slowing carbon reduction goals and putting overburdened and under-resourced communities, in particular, at risk.
Duke Energy also estimates the new gas power plants and nuclear reactors will increase customer bills by 39 percent for Duke Energy Progress customers and by 73 percent for Duke Energy Carolinas customers. I’m a Duke Energy Progress customer, so for me, that means a significant electric bill increase — from $170 per month on average to nearly $240 every month.
Duke Energy didn’t want you to know about the May 5 hearing. They asked to only notify their customers who lived in Person County, but, Duke customers across the state will be paying for their plans.
If you are a North Carolina Duke Energy customer and don’t want to pay for any more polluting and costly climate-damaging energy resources, you can submit your public comments using the resources below.
Sign up to comment at the virtual hearing!
Tuesday, May 6 — 6:30pm — online via WebEx.
How to sign up:
- Click here to sign up to comment by 5 p.m. on April 29. Only the first 20 people who sign up will get to comment at the hearing.
- Email Steph@cwfnc.org if you plan to comment! She can share detailed info to help you write a strong comment and recruit others to do the same.
What to say (talking points courtesy of Clean Water for North Carolina):
- Share whether you are a Duke Energy customer or a member of a NC Electric Cooperative (both are asking to build this plant).
- Tell the North Carolina Utilities Commission about your experience.
- Hurricane Helene was made worse by climate change.
- Do not approve a new gas power plant.
- As a customer, you don’t want to pay for more Hurricane Helenes.
- The commission’s decision today will mean they are either responsible for:
- More disasters like Helene and higher bills OR
- A bright climate future
- Share your personal reasons why you’re opposed. Mention if you are from an impacted community or a Duke customer. (Share how higher bills have already affected you!)
- Reports show that North Carolina’s residential and industrial need for electricity can be met with efficiency and clean, renewable energy. Solar and wind are more cost-effective alternatives to gas.
- Gas plants are expensive. Duke passes the cost of building the power plants and the fuel to run them onto customers through electricity bills. We shouldn’t have to pay higher bills for plants that will serve corporations and risk the health of nearby residents!
- Person County is burdened by pollution. This community is already impacted by the coal plant’s air pollution and coal ash leaching into groundwater.
- Duke Energy admitted the gas plants could increase the risk of cancer for nearby residents.
- Methane is as bad for our climate as coal. Methane is 80 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. It leaks from fracking, pipelines, and at power plants. Continuing to use it will make climate change worse.
