Wondering why your electricity bills keep going up? Increases in methane gas prices have caused 46% of electricity rate increases for residential customers in Duke Energy Progress territory since 2017.

Yet, Duke has proposed one of the largest buildouts of new methane gas plants of any power company in the country — including a new gas plant proposed at Hyco Lake, near Roxboro. Unfortunately, customers would bear the financial risk of these gas plants, because Duke passes the cost of building the power plants and the fuel to run them onto customers through electricity bills. While Duke makes a guaranteed profit from building new gas plants, North Carolinians pay the cost through our power bills, our health and our air and water.

We have the power to say no to Duke’s proposal. The North Carolina Utilities Commission, the agency that oversees power companies in the state, is currently deciding whether or not to allow Duke to build this new gas plant. By writing the commission, you can inform its decision about whether it allows this plant to be built.

Interested in taking action? Appalachian Voices has developed an information packet to help you submit a comment to the NCUC about the proposed gas plant.

Submitting a written comment

You can submit a written comment by mail or online. Visit the NCUC website to submit a comment online and reference Docket No. E-2, Sub 1318/EC-67, Sub 55.

Please reference Docket No. E-2, Sub 1318 / EC-67, Sub 55 for mailed-in comments and mail them to:

North Carolina Utilities Commission,
4325 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, N.C. 27699-4300

 

Here are some helpful talking points that you can use when writing your comment:

• Building more gas plants is risky for customer bills, due to the volatile price of methane gas.
• Gas plants are expensive and paid for by Duke customers.
• To comply with federal regulations that reduce climate pollution, the gas plant will require expensive upgrades, need to run less often, or be at risk of closing early.
• Solar and wind are a more cost-effective alternative to gas plants.
• The proposed gas plants would require a new methane gas pipeline, which would impact properties in Person County.
• Person County is already burdened by environmental pollution. This community has already been impacted by the coal plant’s air pollution and coal ash leaching into groundwater.
• Building a new gas plant is inconsistent with a bipartisan state law that requires Duke to reduce carbon emissions.

For more talking points, see our information packet on the proposed Hyco Lake gas plant.