Dive Summary:
- The group alleges that the $650 million savings Duke promised customers over the next six years doesn’t justify the estimated cost of the nuclear improvements.
- The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) recently ordered Duke and Progress to disclose the “special deals” they made with major customers just before the merger.
- NC WARN has also filed motions with the NCUC arguing that shielding the agreements from public view violates the state’s Public Records Act.
From the article:
An energy watchdog group is pressuring Duke Energy to disclose what could amount to billions of dollars in costs to ratepayers that it kept under wraps until after its takeover of Progress Energy was approved.
Durham-based NC WARN has been running full-page ads in newspapers across the state accusing the Charlotte, N.C.-based company of hiding plans to spend over $2 billion in improvements to its nuclear plants until the merger was finalized. The ad calls on people to contact N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC) Chair Ed Finley and ask him to force the company to prove the deal benefits ratepayers in open hearings. ...
