PSE Healthy Energy’s report shows that it’s not necessary for Duke Energy to wait for another emergency situation or just build more electricity generation because “targeted investments in weatherization, energy efficient appliances and demand response programs can keep demand lower and more stable in cold temperatures, and prevent another blackout.”
Yesterday evening, the North Carolina Utilities Commission approved several measures to lower carbon emissions in North Carolina. The commission chose to focus on short term plans and therefore not pick any single portfolio or generation mix, the plan falls far short of what the law that started this process allowed and what could have been accomplished.
The organizations’ testimony focused on how Duke’s proposed fracked gas expansion would unnecessarily increase costs for customers, while cleaner, lower-cost options like solar, battery storage and energy efficiency could completely offset the need to build new fracked gas infrastructure in the near term.
