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Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NC Sen. Paul Newton, a point person on energy legislation, is leaving the General Assembly
Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus County) (Photo: NCGA video stream) Sen. Paul Newton, the chamber's Republican point person on energy legislation, is retiring from the legislature effective Wednesday. Newton, a retired Duke Energy executive, was first elected to the Senate from Cabarrus County in 2016. He is now the chamber's majority leader. An announcement posted on Medium said Newton is 'leaving to pursue an opportunity outside of state government.' Newton has been a key debater and explainer of new energy laws. This year, he was a leader on the bill to erase an intermediate goal for Duke Energy to cut its carbon emissions. He has also helped lead redistricting and elections committees, defending Senate redistricting plans and Republican elections changes. In 2021, he helped tank former Gov. Roy Cooper's nominee to lead the state Department of Environmental Quality. 'It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Cabarrus County for nearly a decade,' Newton said in a statement. 'During that time, I've been able to play a small role in so many consequential pieces of legislation that have made an incredible impact on the lives of North Carolinians — from significantly reducing the tax burden for all families and supporting businesses of all sizes, to expanding educational opportunities.' Senate leader Phil Berger praised Newton as a 'valued voice and leader in the Republican caucus.' 'He's provided a calm presence and wise counsel to many legislators during his time in Raleigh,' Berger said in a statement. 'He was always willing to tackle the tough subjects and never wavered from his convictions.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina Senate majority leader resigns, creating leadership vacancy
Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton announced his resignation from the North Carolina Senate, effective Wednesday evening, creating a leadership vacancy as the Senate enters a busy legislative period Newton, 64, is stepping down to pursue an opportunity outside of state government, according to a statement from Senate Republicans. His specific plans have not been disclosed, according to the Associated Press. 'It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Cabarrus County for nearly a decade,' Newton said in his statement. Senate leader Phil Berger praised Newton as a 'valued voice and leader' who 'provided a calm presence and wise counsel to many legislators during his time in Raleigh.' ALSO READ: NC Senate passes bill requiring cellphone ban in schools Newton's departure means that Republicans in the 34th Senate District will select someone to fill his seat through the end of 2026. Additionally, Senate Republicans will need to convene to choose a new majority leader. As majority leader, Newton played a significant role in enacting laws that extended conservative tax policies, removed the three-day grace period for mail-in absentee ballots, and set greenhouse gas reduction mandates on electric power plants operated by Duke Energy. Newton, a former Duke Energy state president, joined the Senate in 2017 and was elected by his GOP colleagues to the majority leadership post after the 2022 elections. The Senate's bill-filing deadline was Tuesday, and the Senate aims to approve a two-year state government budget proposal next month. Newton's resignation marks a significant change in the North Carolina Senate's leadership as the legislative body prepares for an intense work period. The selection of his successor will be crucial in shaping the Senate's future direction. VIDEO: NC Senate passes bill requiring cellphone ban in schools
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would undo NC climate goals, change rules for Duke Energy raising rates
The Republican-controlled N.C. General Assembly is pushing a bill that would allow Duke Energy to charge N.C. customers for power plants that haven't yet been built and allow the utility giant to avoid the state's approaching carbon emission-reduction goals. The proposed legislation, Senate Bill 261, has prompted fierce pushback from environmentalists, clean energy advocates and many Democrats. They all claim the bill would move North Carolina in the wrong direction when it comes to cleaning up its air and battling climate change, would saddle customers with unneeded expenses, and tie the state more than ever to a future electrical grid that relies on old fossil fuel power sources rather than cleaner, cheaper and safer renewable alternatives. But advocates say the move would save Tar Heel State consumers from ever-increasing electrical bills − partly fueled by the need to meet clean energy mandates − and allow the construction of a more reliable and cheaper power infrastructure. The bill, dubbed the "Energy Security and Affordability Act," would eliminate the 2030 deadline for Duke to reduce carbon emissions 70% from 2005 levels. The utility giant would still have to meet carbon neutrality by 2050. While Duke has said it wants to add lots more solar and wind, and potentially more exotic renewables like hydrogen and small nuclear reactors, to its future grid, it also wants to replace some of its old coal-fired polluting power plants with new natural gas plants that can operate even when its dark or the wind isn't blowing. The legislation also would allow Duke to ask the N.C. Utilities Commission to start charging customers for power-generating facilities even before they are built. Georgia and South Carolina already allow their large utilities to do that. But in both cases, customers are paying for new nuclear plants whose price tags vastly blew through original estimates − and in South Carolina's case never came close to completion and left customers saddled with a $9 billion loss. TWEAKING THE CARBON PLAN: More natural gas, offshore wind, and higher customer bills in Duke's revised energy plan State Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, is a former president of Duke's N.C. operations and helped write the bill and advocate for it. Another primary sponsor is state Sen. Phil Berger, R-Guilford, the GOP leader of the Senate. The bill passed the Senate with all Republicans and three Democrats supporting it. Duke also supports the proposal. 'As North Carolina continues to experience unprecedented growth, we're focused on making substantial investments in our critical infrastructure to ensure reliability and keep costs as low and predictable as possible for our customers," the company said in a statement. "We are supportive of policies that enable us to meet the state's growing energy needs, including those that advance efficient and always-on baseload generation resources.' Critics of the state's push to decarbonize its energy network note that customer bills are rising now in part because of efforts to "green" the grid, costs that would likely keep rising quickly if Duke was forced to keep adding more renewables to meet carbon-reduction goals. Some officials also have noted that recent changes coming out of Washington under the Trump administration have made renewable energy projects more expensive and politically less palatable. WINDY FUTURE? Trump's decision to pause offshore wind farms creates stormy waters for NC projects Environmentalists and others say the proposed bill would do little to clean up North Carolina's air. It would also tie the state's customers to expensive and polluting power-generation systems for decades to come that would do little to help in the fight against climate change when cleaner and cheaper options, like wind and solar, are proven and financially less volatile alternatives than relying on gas. Allowing rates to be raised to cover power plants that aren't even built yet also would remove a layer of oversight through the utilities commission that protects customers from wasteful and unnecessary bill increases. "At a time of rising energy costs, this bill is a bad deal for ratepayers," said Will Scott, Southeast climate and clean energy director for Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement. "Our recent analysis showed that North Carolina does not need any more baseload gas power plants, yet this bill fast-tracks those plants' costs on to North Carolinians' power bills. Let's stick to our goals to reduce harmful power plant pollution and minimize customer exposure to volatile gas prices.' Opponents of the bill also note that the 2021 bipartisan legislation that set the carbon-reduction goals was hashed out between GOP legislators, Duke and then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, over months of delicate negotiations and called for sacrifices on both sides. This proposed bill has had little input from anyone but Republicans and is being fast-tracked through the General Assembly with little public debate. POWER GAMES: NC faces challenge of creating a clean, reliable and affordable energy future Gov. Josh Stein, who was N.C. attorney general when the original carbon bill was passed, has criticized the proposed bill as a step backward for the state's economy and the environment. 'This bill would raise utility bills on ratepayers and threaten progress we've made on building a clean energy economy, a sector that employs over 100,000 North Carolinians," said Morgan Hopkins, spokesperson for the Democratic governor. "We should be looking for solutions that create jobs and lower costs for hardworking North Carolinians, not increasing their financial burden.' The proposed bill is now under consideration by the N.C. House. Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@ or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Proposed bill would see NC retreat from climate goals, allow new rates
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A bill erasing an intermediate clean energy goal in NC speeds through the state Senate
Critics say Senate Bill 261 will relieve pressure on Duke Energy to move rapidly away from generating electricity from fossil fuels as is done in this Indiana coal-fired facility. (Photo: Robert Zullo for States Newsroom) A measure that would eliminate the interim goal for Duke Energy to cut its carbon emissions continued on its fast track through the Senate on Thursday, winning approval with a 31-12 vote. Senate bill 261 removes the 2030 target for a 70% reduction in carbon emissions. The target was established in a heavily-negotiated law that passed with bipartisan support in 2021. That law also included a 2050 goal for carbon neutrality, which would remain unchanged. Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus), a retired Duke Energy executive, said getting rid of the interim goal – which the utility has already said it can't meet – would save energy customers $13 billion. The Public Staff of the Utilities Commission did the modeling to arrive at that figure, he said. Senate Democrats wanted to hold off on a final vote so they could see the assumptions fed into the model. 'We wanted to meet with the Public Staff to understand the modeling better,' said Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe). 'What would happen if you had different inputs?' Not having an intermediate goal could make it harder to reach carbon neutrality, she said. 'Not having a target, even an aspirational target, could mean that we don't stay on track to get to our 2050 goal,' Mayfield said. Democrats were denied the chance to get more details or put questions to the Public Staff, as a Senate majority voted to move ahead with a final vote. 'We just felt that this was a bill that needed to be addressed at this time and just wanted to move forward,' Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), one of the bill's sponsors, said later. The bill now goes to the state House for considering. An email from the Public Staff executive director that was forwarded to members of a Senate committee this week said the model was a re-run of Duke Energy's energy production plan, but without the interim goal. The model was not updated to include factors such as inflation, the price of fuel, tariff changes, and other variables, he wrote. Republicans said the change would not cut energy costs, but would slow the rate of growth. The change would help energy consumers, they said, particularly low-income households. 'When you think about the burden of energy bills on the poor, think about low-income residents who live in older, less energy-efficient homes,' Newton said. 'Removing the interim goal means you're standing with North Carolinians.' Democrats said Republicans' concern for low-income residents rang hollow because when the 2021 law was being negotiated, Republicans refused to include energy efficient programs, including those that would have targeted low-income customers. 'Democrats offered about two dozen options for energy efficiency programs that could have been included in that bill, including some that Duke Energy runs in other states and would have been happy to run here,' Mayfield said. 'Every single one of those suggestions was rejected by this body. Every single one.' The bill would also allow Duke Energy to increase base rates to cover the cost of energy-generating facilities while they are under construction, if the Utilities Commission concludes there is an overall cost savings to customers over the life of the facility. In a memo opposing the bill, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) called the provision 'a win for Duke Energy at the expense of ratepayers.' The EDF memo highlighted a partially-completed $9 billion nuclear power plant expansion in South Carolina that the utility companies Santee Cooper and South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. abandoned in 2017, which customers are still paying for.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill altering NC climate goals in the name of lowering energy costs passes senate vote
Senate Bill 261, known as the Energy Security and Affordability Act, passed its second and third readings in the Senate Thursday and will head to the House for further discussion. PAST COVERAGE: Legislation to alter NC climate goals progresses in state Senate The bill, which was introduced Monday, would remove the state's mandate for Duke Energy to reduce its carbon emissions by 70% by 2030, a goal set with bipartisan support in 2021. The utility is still required to operate with carbon neutrality by 2050. One of the bill's primary sponsors, Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus), also a former Duke Energy executive, introduced the bill to the floor. He argued that models run by North Carolina's Public Staff, which represents ratepayer interests, show removing the 2030 goal would save North Carolinians $13 billion. 'One in three low-income households struggle to pay their electricity bill each year,' Sen. Newton said. 'The North Carolina Justice Center reports that 1.4 million residents are energy cost burdened. Why would we keep the interim goal?' Senator Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) expressed doubt about the purported savings to ratepayers. She said while that's an admirable goal, she's wondering what assumptions were made in the Public Staff's modeling that achieved the $13 billion savings. 'If this bill allows, for instance, the construction of more gas plants, what does that mean for the cost to customers?' she said. 'If the cost of natural gas skyrockets, as it has done multiple times over the last few decades. What does that mean?' She also expressed confusion over the purpose of removing the 2030 target entirely, as the North Carolina Utilities Commission has already approved a plan that allows Duke Energy to miss that target by about five years. Sen. Newton responded that the 2030 goal requires the commission to think more about the short-term rather than allow for longer-term solutions that could provide more cost savings for customers. 'If you look to 2050 then the least cost option for low income may be to build a nuclear plant that may not be on the grid for another 10 years, but it's much less expensive for everyone in North Carolina than jamming in near term, more intermittent resources that are forcing the rates higher today than they otherwise would be,' he said. The focus on building nuclear has drawn critics to another section of the bill, which would make it easier to raise electricity rates to fund projects under construction before they're completed, if the utilities commission believes this will save ratepayers money in the long run. Groups, including the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association and the North Carolina Justice Center, expressed concern that this could mean ratepayers would be on the hook for risky, expensive projects, particularly as nuclear energy projects have historically faced cancellations during construction or run behind schedule and over budget. In a statement, the N.C. Justice Center said the bill reminded them of the legislation that led to the scandal at South Carolina's VC Summer plant. 'When South Carolina had a similar policy in place 10 years ago, ratepayers paid billions of dollars to fund the construction of a nuclear power plant that never produced a single unit of power,' said Claire Williamson, the N.C. Justice Center's Senior Energy Policy Advocate. Sen. Newton said the provision in the bill requiring the overall cost-savings would offer regulatory protection for customers. The bill passed its second reading 31 to 12, and immediately after, it passed its third reading with a voice vote. VIDEO: Legislation to alter NC climate goals progresses in state Senate
