North Carolina: Senate Panel Gives First OK to Renewables, Efficiency Bill
The measure won support from the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee chaired by its sponsor, Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin. It needs approval from the Senate Finance Committee before it will face a full chamber vote.
The bill orders North Carolina public utilities to provide 12.5 percent of their retail power from renewables and efficiency by the year 2021. Electric co-ops and municipal power companies would have a 10 percent standard.
Utility companies praised the measure — crafted during more than a dozen stakeholder meetings — as a way to guarantee that they will be able to meet growing customer demand while still turning to "greener" power sources.
"We believe this bill is so good because it is a comprehensive policy," said Cari Boyce, spokeswoman for Progress Energy.
But environmental groups were unhappy that the bill retained language that would allow the power companies to recover the cost of building coal and nuclear power plants by charging customers before those plants come on line.
The House may prove less friendly to that section, and opponents will push for its removal when the measure gets to that chamber, said Elizabeth Ouzts, director of Environment North Carolina.
Related News
Hot Houston summer and cold winter set new electricity records
HOUSTON - Last year's Houston cold winter and hot summer drove power use to record levels, especially among households that rely on electricity for air conditioning.
Electricity generation increased 4 per cent nationwide in 2018 and produced 4,178 million megawatt hours, surpassing the previous peak of 4,157 megawatt hours set in 2007, the Energy Department reported.
U.S. households bought 6 percent more electricity in 2018 than they did the previous year, reflecting the fact 87 percent of households cool their homes with air conditioning and 35 percent use electricity for heating.
Electricity sales to the commercial sector increased 2 percent in 2018 compared…
