Too bad it doesn’t just end the whole kit-and-kaboodle.
Emissions bill headed to governor, it would allow Duke Energy to avoid 2030 climate change deadline
Duke Energy would be allowed to avoid a fast-approaching climate change goal and charge North Carolina customers now for future power plants under the terms of a bill on the way to Gov. Josh Stein.
The North Carolina Senate gave final approval of Senate Bill 266 on Thursday.
Supporters of the bill believe it will keep power bills from becoming even more expensive. Critics say it could do the exact opposite, potentially leaving North Carolinians paying billions of dollars for power plants that never actually get built.
The measure makes changes to a law passed in 2021 with bipartisan support, intended to decrease carbon emissions from North Carolina energy production by 70% by 2030, and down to net zero by 2050.
It was a stupid bill to start with
Four years later, Duke Energy now says meeting those carbon reduction targets will cause consumers’ power bills to rise. The measure eliminates the intermediate deadline, freeing Duke from meeting the 70% target set for 2030.
On Thursday, Duke Energy provided a statement about the bill.
“We appreciate bipartisan efforts by policymakers to keep costs as low as possible for customers and enable the always-on energy resources our communities need,” a Duke Energy spokesperson wrote. “Policies which build on our state’s strong customer protections while helping meet growing energy demands from population growth, business expansion and a resurgence of manufacturing can play a critical role in supporting North Carolina’s thriving economy.”
Obviously, the cultists are not happy with this, while the climate cult apostates are all for it. Anyhow, will it raise rates or essentially keep them the same, with slow rises? It will depend on what Duke does, namely, make sure they build new power plants for real. The scam requirements made energy more expensive when it did not need to.
Will the Governor sign it? There were a few Democrats who voted for this bill.
Fortunately, here in the Bluegrass State the Governor doesn’t have the power to force such things, and the Republican super-majorities in both Houses of the General Assembly would never impose such idiocy.
You can even get a “Coal Keeps the Lights On” license plate here! No, I don’t have one; I have farm plates on my truck.