Utilities Watchdog Project In the News

By Mark Binker ...Still, advocates such as Shana Becker , a lawyer who works for the N.C. Public Interest Research Group, say the committee could be looking for ways to improve energy-efficiency efforts at the same time it keeps watch over Grubar and the five utilities commissioners, all of whom are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature.

By Lisa Zerkle. Energy efficiency is not sexy; it's not gleaming solar panels or alabaster wind turbines spinning in the breeze. It's hard to get excited about weatherstripping. But exciting or not, energy efficiency is the best and cheapest way to make the most of our power supply.

By Christopher Kirkpatrick. Environmentalists trying to block Duke Energy Corp.'s new nuclear plant project in Cherokee County, S.C., were denied on one front today. The N.C. Utilities Commission said it would not reverse last year's decision it made that gave the Charlotte-based utility extra financial protection if the $6 billion nuclear project fails.

By John Downey. In hearing testimony in July, Michael Maness of the public staff called Save-A-Watt “seriously flawed.” He said the staff’s objections would continue even if the 90 percent figure were reduced.

By Shana Becker. Duke Energy’s Save-a-Watt program poses as a hybrid, charges for a Lamborghini and runs like a Pinto. The author of the July 31 editorial has been misled. Save-a-Watt is a bad deal.

By Jessica Cervantez. Duke Energy's plan to save its customers energy and money is facing some heated opposition this week as the company makes its case for government approval.

By John Murawski. Placards and denunciations kicked off what's expected to be a contentious week of regulatory hearings on Duke Energy's energy efficiency proposal, save-a-watt.

By John Murawski. A public protest kicked off a week of hearings today on Duke Energy's controversial energy efficiency proposal called Save-a-Watt. Critics say Save-a-Watt is thin on efficiency and fat on corporate profits.

By Bruce Mildwurf. Attorneys and advocates representing the state, utility consumers and environmentalists say Duke's Save-a-Watt plan is too expensive and doesn't save enough energy – only about a 1 percent reduction by 2015. The company wants to raise rates to an amount equal to 90 percent of what it would cost to generate the electricity that would have been produced had it not been for the energy-savings plan.

By Frank Vinluan. RALEIGH - It's a conundrum for a new day: To implement programs that reduce electricity usage, Progress Energy would charge customers for the energy they don't use.

By Frank Vinluan. RALEIGH - Under Progress Energy's plans to recover from ratepayers its costs for investing in renewable energy, a studio apartment resident would pay the same as the resident of a palatial home whose monthly electricity usage reaches 40,000 kilowat hours.

By David Ranii, Staff Writer. PSNC Energy is seeking a 3 percent rate increase that would raise the natural gas bill for the average residential customer by $3 a month, or $36 a year. The Gastonia-based company says higher rates are justified by higher costs and because the average household is using less gas ..."It has to come with accountability," Becker said. "If it doesn't, we're just giving the utility money for global warming or warm weather patterns."

By Christopher Kirkpatrick ..."Save-a-watt is extremely speculative by design and introduces excessive administrative burdens. There are cheaper and better ways to gain energy efficiency," said Shana Becker, a consumer advocate with N.C. PIRG, a consumer protection group.

Two months after the passage of a landmark state law to promote alternative energy, environmental and consumer advocates are still at odds with the state’s large power companies over how much consumers will end up paying for greener energy.

Local governments have pressured lawmakers in North Carolina to back off a proposal to limit the ability of municipalities to build and operate their own high-speed Internet networks.