Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
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N.C. “Home Energy Makeover Contest” Redux
We’re launching our second High Country Home Energy Makeover Contest for residential members of Blue Ridge Energy (BRE) in North Carolina, with a grand-prize of $2,500 in home improvements.
TVA’s “New Pricing Paradigm” is a bad deal for communities and clean energy
Appalachian Voices attended TVA’s February board meeting to oppose rate reforms that would burden on low-income residents and thwart future investments in clean energy.
Still on hold: Few answers on review of mountaintop removal health impacts
More than a year into the Trump administration, a director for the Office of Surface Mining has yet to be confirmed. And it’s unlikely that Trump’s pro-coal pick will reinstate a review of the human health impacts of mountaintop removal.
N.C. regulators shift coal ash cleanup costs to ratepayers
The North Carolina Utilities Commission signed off on a rate hike proposed by Duke Energy, effectively shifting the cost burden of cleaning up coal ash onto many families who are already struggling to stay afloat.
Sharing and listening: Holston Electric Co-op looks for member input
In East Tennessee, Holston Electric Cooperative is listening to its member-owners and responding with new services, like high-speed internet and an opt-out program for herbicide spraying near power lines.