Tell the Senate: Don't let Duke Energy pass its costs to NC families

The N.C. Senate is about to consider approving a bill that would force Duke Energy customers to pay the cost of building new power plants, even if they're never finished. If the Senate approves it, the bill will go to Gov. Josh Stein for his signature.

Use this form to tell your state Senator to vote NO on S266, a bill we call the Ratepayer Risks Act.

S266 was originally a bill that would have helped Hurricane Helene victims rebuild. The House gutted it, and now the legislation threatens harm to North Carolinians statewide who have no choice but to get their electricity from Duke Energy.

Like similar bills that stalled in the House, S266 would let Duke force ratepayers to finance "construction work in progress" (CWIP). But look at South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida – ratepayers there have been socked in the wallet thanks to CWIP when power plant project costs ballooned as they were delayed or abandoned entirely. And S266 has no requirement for Duke Energy to repay customers if construction projects they financed are scrapped. What's more, this version of the bill would let Duke Energy take a shortcut around the normal ratemaking process to raise bills for CWIP.

It also deletes the 2030 interim deadline to reduce carbon emissions, passed in 2021 by a bipartisan General Assembly. Duke supported that deal in return for a smoother path to raise rates – a section it's taken full advantage of. Allowing the utility to renege means that power plants it will build in the near future will likely use polluting fossil fuels that have seen volatile price changes, or dangerous nuclear.

Send a message now to your state Senator. Tell them to protect your family, your community and our environment by voting NO on accepting the House changes to Senate Bill 266.

Be sure to personalize your message! Your state Senator needs to hear your experience as a utility ratepayer, and why you believe a monopoly like Duke Energy shouldn't be granted shortcuts and must be held accountable to all of us.

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The House gutted a Senate bill that would have helped Hurricane Helene's victims, creating one that will harm many North Carolinians via CWIP – "construction work in progress" – a policy that's been disastrous for ratepayers in other states. That bill is heading back to the Senate for concurrence. I urge you to vote no.

S266's new title should more accurately be the "Ratepayer Risks Act." Its House authors claim it will help reduce our power bills, but the information they're sharing is inaccurate and incomplete. CWIP costs will be a burden to North Carolina families who are already juggling finances to cover skyrocketing energy bills from a monopoly utility. Ratepayers in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida are still being socked in the wallet thanks to CWIP legislation from construction costs that ballooned as projects were delayed or abandoned entirely. Likewise, N.C. ratepayers will carry all the risk, because S266 has no requirement for Duke Energy to repay customers if construction projects are scrapped.

The bill also will delete the 2030 deadline to reduce carbon emissions passed by a bipartisan General Assembly, with Duke's support, in 2021. Duke Energy has taken full advantage of the glide path to raise rates that it got in return for its promise, so it should keep up its end of the bargain. Allowing the utility to renege also means that power plants it will build in the near future will likely use polluting fossil fuels that have seen volatile price changes, or dangerous nuclear. And with the 2050 carbon-cutting target just 25 years away, it's likely that any such plant built now will end up a stranded asset.

Since Duke Energy won't keep its word, I ask you to keep yours. Protect your constituents from this attack on our household funds and our families' health. Please refuse to concur on S266.

Please help protect your constituents from shouldering the risks and costs of Duke Energy's pollution expansion plans, and make the utility uphold the carbon-cutting promises it made to a bipartisan legislative majority just a few years ago. The House gutted a Senate bill that would have helped Hurricane Helene's victims, creating one that will harm many North Carolinians via CWIP – "construction work in progress" – a policy that's been disastrous for ratepayers in other states. That bill is heading back to the Senate for concurrence. I urge you to vote no. S266's new title should more accurately be the "Ratepayer Risks Act." Its House authors claim it will help reduce our power bills, but the information they're sharing is inaccurate and incomplete. CWIP costs will be a burden to North Carolina families who are already juggling finances to cover skyrocketing energy bills from a monopoly utility. Ratepayers in South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida are still being socked in the wallet thanks to CWIP legislation from construction costs that ballooned as projects were delayed or abandoned entirely. Likewise, N.C. ratepayers will carry all the risk, because S266 has no requirement for Duke Energy to repay customers if construction projects are scrapped. The bill also will delete the 2030 deadline to reduce carbon emissions passed by a bipartisan General Assembly, with Duke's support, in 2021. Duke Energy has taken full advantage of the glide path to raise rates that it got in return for its promise, so it should keep up its end of the bargain. Allowing the utility to renege also means that power plants it will build in the near future will likely use polluting fossil fuels that have seen volatile price changes, or dangerous nuclear. And with the 2050 carbon-cutting target just 25 years away, it's likely that any such plant built now will end up a stranded asset. Since Duke Energy won't keep its word, I ask you to keep yours. Protect your constituents from this attack on our household funds and our families' health. Please refuse to concur on S266.

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