*ALERT* 

18% Increase in Power Bills

for an Unneeded Plant, More Coal

1) Attend public hearings to speak and show your opposition.

2) Send comments to NC Utilities Commission

TELL THE UTILITIES COMMISSIONERS TO

DENY DUKE ENERGY’S RATE HIKE AND REVOKE THE PERMIT FOR CLIFFSIDE:

Public Hearings on the Proposed Rate Hike:

Charlotte : Wednesday, September 9, 6 PM at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Center , Chamber Conference Room (CH-14), 600 E. Fourth St .  (enter handicapped entrance)

Durham : Thursday, September 10, 7 PM in the Durham City Hall , Council Chambers, 101 City Hall Plaza

High Point : Tuesday, September 15, 7 PM in the High Point City Hall , Council Chambers, 211 S. Hamilton St .                                                                               

Marion : Thursday, September 17, 7 PM in the McDowell County Courthouse, Courtroom, (Second Floor), Corner of Main and Court St.

Franklin : Tuesday, September 22, 7 PM in the Macom County Courthouse, Courtroom A, 5 W. Main St.

Raleigh : Monday, October 19, 1 PM in the Commission Hearing Room 2115, Dobbs Building , 430 North Salisbury St .  

Explanation of the Rate Hike

Duke Energy is claiming to need an overall increase of 12.6% in revenues to compensate for its capital expenditures on infrastructure, including the ongoing construction at it new Cliffside coal-burning power plant in Rutherford County .

The rate increase will vary among the different sectors within Duke Energy’s customer base.  But, when all the sectors are added together it will theoretically equal a 12.6% increase in annual revenues for the company.

Residential- 13.5%  increase

Private homes, apartments, or single family dwellings.

General Service – 11.2% increase

Commercial businesses, office buildings, government offices, warehouses

OPT- General – 8.9% increase

Optional program for those who get General Service.  This option provides lower rates for off-peak power usage than for peak-hour power usage.  Both off-peak and peak-hour rates would increase 8.9%

OPT- Industrial- 15.6% increase

Optional program for those who get Industrial Service.  This option provides lower rates for off-peak power usage than for peak-hour power usage by industries.  Both off-peak and peak-hour rates would increase 15.6%.

Lighting – 16.7% increase

Outdoor commercial and municipal lighting (parking lots, city streets and public roads)

This is the largest increase of any sector and would likely result in either diminished lighting or higher local taxes in many towns, cities and counties to compensate.

Duke Energy is seeking an 18% rate hike for residential electricity customers. Over 13.5% would cover costs for capital expenditures such as the Cliffside coal-fired power plant, now under construction west of Charlotte .  Another 4.5% is for rising costs of coal.  

Instead of a rate hike, Cliffside construction should be stopped.  Recent Duke Energy data reinforces the fact that the $2.4 billion plant is not needed.  Over two dozen organizations have petitioned the Commission to halt construction and hold evidentiary hearings.

Duke’s rate hike would be only the first of many if the company continues building coal and nuclear power plants.  State rules reward Duke for building expensive plants and maximizing sales – even if customers’ power bills rise dramatically.

North Carolina law strictly prohibits construction of unneeded power plants. The Utilities Commission earlier allowed Duke to skirt the state’s “least cost” requirement, although  Commissioner Robert Owens agreed with critics that Cliffside should not be built.

Multiple factors prove Cliffside is not needed.  Among them: Duke is trying to expand sales to entire cities outside its service area – although the Commission ruled against it. 

The top U.S. energy regulator now dismisses the need for new coal and nuclear plants.  

Cliffside is not needed, according to a Duke University economist, who says Duke Energy’s own data indicates new plants can be avoided by modest increases in energy efficiency and with the development of renewable resources at levels already required by North Carolina law. 

Cliffside would be hazardous to us as ratepayers, to our health, and by fueling accelerating climate change, which scientists call a global crisis.

Plans for 100 coal-fired plants have been shelved since 2006 in response to climate change, rising energy prices, and the ravages of mountaintop coal mining.  Cliffside should be too.

The Utilities Commission must stop allowing Duke Energy to waste customers' money while risking an environmental and health tragedy.  North Carolina wants to be part of the national surge toward energy efficiency and clean power that is creating thousands of jobs everywhere.  

Now is the time for the People of North Carolina to assert our authority on key decisions, by demanding that the politically appointed Utilities Commission – and all elected officials – stand up to Duke Energy: 

Cancel Cliffside and turn this state toward energy efficiency and the development of its abundant clean, safe renewable resources

For more information on why Cliffside is unnecessary, visit these websites:

www.canarycoalition.org

www.ncwarn.org/docs/alert%206-30-09%20Huge%20Support%20for%20Hearings%20on%20Duke%20Plant.pdf

http://stopcliffside.org/news.php