Republicans in the state legislature are rushing to pass a deeply concerning bill that would allow the N.C. Utilities Commission to raise your electric rates to pay to build new energy plants.
S261 is called the Energy Security and Affordability Act. But here’s the catch: It includes a section that would put North Carolina utility customers – like you – on the hook to pay for construction of energy plants even if those plants never produce a single kilowatt of power.
What's more, the plants those higher rates would finance don’t have to use clean energy sources like wind and solar that would create jobs and reduce our state’s air pollution. In fact, it’s likely that your dollars would go toward the construction of expensive new nuclear and gas plants.
Take action with us to protect your wallet and our environment: Use this form to tell your state lawmaker to oppose S261. Be sure to add your own thoughts! Personalized messages have the greatest impact.
What's wrong with S261?
- Forces ordinary ratepayers to pay for expensive, harmful energy plants: S261 allows the N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) to give utilities permission to incorporate the cost of constructing new energy plants into North Carolinians’ electric bills. It does not require those facilities to be clean energy.
- Those energy plants do not even need to be completed: NCUC could allow utilities to raise rates to cover the cost of construction of energy facilities even if those facilities never see the light of day! This essentially erases accountability for these rate hikes.
- It erases our state’s 2030 carbon emissions reduction goal: Just four years ago, Duke Energy negotiated bipartisan legislation that gave it more latitude in raising rates in return for cutting carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. S261 erases the 70% short-term deadline, freeing Duke to expand polluting energy sources and scrap energy efficiency measures.
- It's being rushed through the legislature: S261 was passed by the full Senate just three days after it was filed. Its sponsors know the bill will cause public outrage, so they're rushing it through the legislature at maximum speed in an attempt to avoid sufficient analysis and debate.
North Carolinians should not be forced to pay even higher energy bills at the same time our state presses forward with erasing its carbon-cutting reduction goals. Contact your legislators today and tell them to OPPOSE SB 261.
