Front Porch Blog
Updates from Appalachia
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.
