Gov. Cooper, Be Bold for NC!
Duke Energy’s 15-year plan defies Governor Cooper’s commitment to tackle climate change — and they want the working class to pay for it.
In September 2020, Duke Energy released its latest Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines the corporation’s projections for how it will generate electricity for the next 15 years. In these critical years which will determine our chance for a livable future, Duke proposes to continue the use of coal and gas, build 9.6 GW of additional gas infrastructure, and increase energy rates for North Carolinians — by up to 25%. Not only does this plan fail to meet the bold climate action we need in the energy sector, but it asks the working class to foot the bill for Duke’s negligence during one of the worst economic crises this country has ever seen.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) planned to hold a single public hearing about Duke’s IRP on Tuesday, March 16; however, due to an overwhelming number of participants who registered for public comment (over 200 people), that hearing was cancelled and will now be divided into three parts.
The Utilities Commission is responsible for regulating Duke Energy and delivering on Governor Roy Cooper’s commitment to reduce emissions by 70% below 2005 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The Duke plan blatantly defies the first mark — only reducing emissions “by at least 50%” by 2030 — and offers no evidence for any goals to hit the second. Duke excludes renewable, affordable energy sources from the proposal saying the goals aren’t attainable without “policy support.”
Of all the baffling shortcomings from the IRP, one question is particularly of interest to the working class people of North Carolina: how can the biggest energy monopoly in the country, that receives steady corporate tax breaks and sees their profits increase each year, be allowed to raise rates on North Carolinians? How can the same state with a $7.25 minimum wage, no Medicaid expansion, and no plan for the unemployed ask us to pay for Duke’s pollution, negligence, and fiduciary responsibilities?
We will fight for the BIPOC, working class communities that will be disproportionately affected by these rate hikes, and we demand equitable access to clean energy, a halt to utility shutoffs, and affordable energy for all. Instead of increasing the cost of survival even more, we need a Jobs Guarantee. We need worker protection, livable wages, and union jobs in sustainable industries — not the dead end fossil fuel industry whose only priority is to ensure its own survival and profiteering.
Governor Cooper, who do you serve? You made a commitment to the people of North Carolina. Duke Energy’s plan woefully misses the mark to deliver clean, affordable energy. Stand for us and begin building your legacy around a Green New Deal, which will create millions of well-paying jobs repairing our crumbling infrastructure, securing our economy with renewable energy, and halting the assault on our planet for the sake of corporate profits. Governor Cooper, NC needs you to be bold!
