Residents push-back against
proposed energy rate hike
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Opposition is strong
to Duke Energy
Carolinas' request for a
nearly 10 percent rate
increase.
The energy giant's
request'fnust be approved
by the North Carolina
Utilities Commission,
whose commissioners are
appointed by the gover
nor. The commission is
holding public witness
hearings across the state
to gather input from
Duke Energy customers.
Commissioners were
in Winston-Salem yester
day, after the Chronicle's
press time.
NCWARN, an envi
ronmental nonprofit
group that is a key oppo
nent of a rate hike, held
sessions in Winston
Salem to help prepare
local residents to speak
before the Commission.
"Our objection is that
the commission contin
ues to allow for Duke
Energy to recoup the
expenses upon these
energy choices that are
more expensive and
harmful for the general
public," NCWARN's
Sammy Slade said.
Duke Energy wants
the rate increase to
recoup the money it spent
to modernize two of its
' nuclear power stations
and construct two new
coal plants. NCWARN
maintains that it would be
cheaper for customers
and Duke Energy and
better for the environ
ment to invest in methods
like weatherization and
renewable energy.
NCWARN's opposi
tion and concerns are
shared by a number of
local groups, including
350.org Winston-Salem,
Occupy Winston-Salem
and Democracy NC.
"To us, that's an issue
that affects people's lives
and so we're happy to do
what we can," said
Democracy NC's local
field organizer Linda
Sutton.
Pete MacDowell pro
gram director for
NCWARN, said getting
state residents to speak
out is important.
"They will be charged
again and again and again
for unnecessary expendi
tures and unnecessary
plants until people put a
stop to it," he said.
MacDowell said he
was dismayed that the
NC Utility Commission's
Public Staff, which advo
cates on behalf of the
public, came up with a
settlement recommenda
tion of an approximately
5.1 percent average hike
among Duke Energy cus
tomers, below the 9.7
percent the company
asked for, before the pub
lic hearings were even
over.
David Drooz, a Public
Staff attorney, said the
recommendation was not
made without input from
residents. The Public
Staff has an entire divi
sion that takes consumer
complaints, he said, and
the settlement recom
mendation reflects hun
dreds of hours put in by
dozens of accountants,
engineers and others on
the staff to audit the com
pany and determine if the
rate increase it requested
is warranted.
"Some people under
standably have the per
ception that the company
doesn't need more
money, that they ought to
be denied, that the rates
ought to lowered, but we
have to look at what their
costs really are," said
Drooz. "If the company
was to have their rates
reduced to a level that
they're not covering their
costs, then ultimately
that's going1 to impair
their ability to provide
reliable electric service to
their customers."
Duke Energy had
sought and won approval
by the NC Utilities
Commission last year for
a 7.2 percent overall hike,
but the decision was chal
lenged by Attorney
General Roy Cooper on
the basis the commission
failed to balance the
needs of consumers with
that of Duke Energy. The
N.C. Supreme Court
agreed and overturned the
increase in April, sending
it back to the commission
for further consideration.
Duka Energy's last
approved hike increase -
seven percent - was more
than two years ago.
Duke Energy
spokesperson Lisa
Parrish said the improve
ments the company made
made the energy it pro
vides more efficient and
cleaner.
"This is a third in a
series of three rate cases
that involved moderniz
ing our facilities, which
puts us ahead of the curve
in terms of environmental
compliance," said
Parrish.
All work that is cov
ered by the increase has
already been done, she
said, so the rate increase
will help Duke recover
the cost, she said, adding
that this was the final
phase of company's mod
ernization program.
If the hike is
approved, Duke Energy
would coup an extra $205
million in the first two
years and $235 million a
year after that, according
to the Associated Press.
Commissioners are
expected to consider the
rate hike after evidentiary
hearings are held in July.
Duke Energy cus
tomers can submit state
ments to the Utilities
Commission by emailing
statements ? ncuc net.
I I
Sammy Sladt
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett
Bennetts celebrate
50th wedding
anniversary
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE :
On June 15, Franklin and Bettie Bennett celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary with a luncheon host
ed by the couple's children at Galilee Missionary
Baptist Church, where Dr. Nathan E. Scovens is pas
tor.
The Bennett's children are Felecia Bennett-Giles
(Terrance) of Clemmons; Dr. Belinda Bennett
McFeeters (Forrest) of Walkertown; and Dr. Jabbar R.
Bennett of Providence, RI. The Bennetts have three
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Mr. Bennett, a 1960 graduate of CarVer High
school, served in the U.S. Armed Forces from 1966
1968 and was stationed in Korea during the Vietnam
Era. He earned a BS in 1975 from Winston-Salem
State University and an MA from NC A&T State
University in 1978. He worked for Continental Can
from 1969-1975 and retired from the N.C. Department
of Corrections as a probation/parole officer in 1995.
Mrs. Bennett, formerly Bettie Lou Williams, is a
1959 graduate of Atkins High School. She attended
N.C. A&T with the class of 1963, and is a 1964 grad
uate of Russell Commercial School, where she earned
the distinction of salutatorian. In 1964, Mrs. Bennett
was hired as the first African American employee at
First Union National Bank, where she worked in
bookkeeping. She began working for the U.S. Veterans
Administration in 1966. retiring as a senior claims
examiner in 1998. While working with the VA, Mrs.
Bennett also served as the Equal Opportunity
Counselor.
The Bennetts are members of Galilee Missionary
Baptist Church, where they serve as deacon and dea
coness.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
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