A cadre of passionate NC Chapter volunteers and staff visited the General Assembly on Tuesday to urge lawmakers to vote against any legislation that would impose construction work in progress (CWIP) costs onto utility ratepayers and free Duke Energy from its pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.
Our team of about 20, pulled together on very short notice by new organizer Michal Brzezicki (pictured second from right, next to Chapter Director Chris Herndon at far right), visited the offices of about 70 House and Senate members to educate them about S266, the so-called "Power Bill Reduction Act." Many thanks to all our friends who showed up to help!
Unfortunately, the full House voted late in the day to approve S266, and the bill is now awaiting a Senate concurrence vote on the significant changes made in a House committee. That Senate vote may come as soon as Tuesday, so scroll down for a link to our action alert that asks state Senators to vote no. Then keep an eye out for next steps as we continue to fight this legislation.
S266, which we're calling the Ratepayer Risks Act, now includes the language from S261 and the Senate's budget proposal that grants Duke Energy the ability to saddle ratepayers with CWIP costs, and frees the utility from the pledge enshrined in a bipartisan-supported 2021 bill to lower its carbon emissions by 2030. It has additional problematic sections that we describe on the action alert page.
S266 got more support from House Democrats than we expected. So, in addition to asking the Senate to refuse concurrence (the bill originally eased building permit requirements for Helene victims), the Sierra Club and our environmental allies are lobbying Gov. Josh Stein to veto the bill. Sustaining a veto will require support from every House Democrat, so we'll also be ready to push them hard to reject any veto override attempt.
H402, Limit Rules With Substantial Financial Costs, (formerly the NC REINS Act) continues its progress with full Senate consideration scheduled for Tuesday. This bill puts politically unattainable requirements in place to enact rules: requiring administrative rules that have certain financial impacts to be approved by a supermajority of votes or a unanimous vote, depending on the impact of that rule on the entity it regulates without consideration for the benefit to the public. Each threshold is unlikely to be met thanks to recent legislative changes in board structures.
Attempts to enact a budget by June 30 (the end of the fiscal year) have been abandoned, and word is the General Assembly will wrap up its session for the summer at the end of this month. That allows Senate Leader Phil Berger to prepare for an anticipated strong challenge in the 2026 primary election, and for House Speaker Destin Hall to spend time at home with his wife and new baby.
TAKE ACTION:
Speak up NOW to oppose CWIP: The legislature is nearing a final vote on a bill that would put YOU on the hook for power plant construction projects, and let Duke Energy break its promise to lower carbon emissions by 2030. Tell your state Senator NOW to oppose the CWIP bill!
Support clean energy development: Clean energy businesses have been a boon for North Carolina's economy AND our environment. Tell your House member to oppose a bill that would redefine the state's Clean Energy Portfolio Standard (CEPS) in a way that would completely undermine the standards' intent to encourage development of renewable wind and solar projects.