StarNews Online: KEN CUCCINELLI: N.C. should block this Duke Energy power grab
As the former Attorney General in Virginia, I’ve been following with interest the progress of a bill that, as the StarNews correctly noted in an April 29 editorial, would be “extremely convenient for the power company.”
Key provisions to extend the period of time between utility company rate cases are embedded within N.C. Senate Bill 559, being debated at the N.C. General Assembly. Similar provisions hurt Virginia customers, and will hurt North Carolina customers, too.
The only beneficiary of extended rate reviews, as designed in the current bill, is the utility. In Virginia, our two monopoly utilities have the legislative- and commission-approved ability to lock-in over-earning hundreds of millions of dollars every year, while customers are left to pay the price through higher bills.