Charlotte customers shocked by sudden spike in natural gas bills. âRidiculous.â Piedmont Natural Gas customers are expressing their shock on social media after their monthly bills doubled or even tripled what they paid at this time last year to heat their homes. (Source: CHARLOTTE OBSERVER FILE PHOTO) By Joe Marusak | February 3, 2021 at 9:02 AM EST - Updated February 3 at 9:02 AM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Charlotte Observer) - Some Charlotte homeowners are expressing shock and anger on social media after their Piedmont Natural Gas bills doubled or tripled this winter over the same time last year.
âOurs was 3xs the norm without any additional usage!â a south Charlotte resident posted on NextDoor with an angry face emoji.
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Duke Energy Reaches $1.1B Deal to Resolve North Carolina Coal Ash Cost Issues
In a milestone settlement that could resolve Duke Energy’s “last remaining major issues” on coal ash management in North Carolina, the utility has agreed to absorb $1.1 billion in cleanup costs anticipated between 2015 and 2030.
The proposed settlement, which Duke Energy filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) on Jan. 25, is a major compromise, signaling an end to years of litigation that took shape after the state’s General Assembly enacted the North Carolina Coal Ash Management Act (CAMA) in 2014, in response to Duke Energy Carolina’s February 2014 Dan River coal ash spill.
Duke Energy, North Carolina Reach Deal on Coal Ash Removal Costs
Duke Energy, North Carolina officials and a conservation group announced Monday an agreement on how the utility pays to get rid of coal ash stored in the state. The proposed settlement would shift an estimated $1.1 billion in expenses away from customers over the next decade to the nation’s largest electric utility and its shareholders.
The agreement was announced a month after the state Supreme Court ruled regulators should revisit an order that would have placed nearly all of the expense upon Duke’s 3.4 million electric customers in the state.
From Staff Reports
Duke Energy has reached an agreement on coal ash management with the North Carolina Attorney General and the Sierra Club and the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission have reached an agreement on costs related to cleanup.
On Monday, state Attorney General Josh Stein, announced the settlement for coal ash cleanup cost allocation through 2030. Over this time frame, Duke Energy has agreeded to reduce North Carolina customers’ costs by approximately $1.1 billion.
But pressed by reporters, Stein acknowledged that consumers will be expected to shoulder the $3 billion that Duke is not covering, or roughly 75% of the total cost of the cleanup.
When Duane Walters moved to a house in Hampstead s Belvedere Plantation four years ago, one of the first things his neighbors talked about was the area’s poor water quality.
Since then, the water has left reddish rings in the shower and toilets of his rental house, and the faucets have been clogged with black “sludge,” Walters said.
That s caused him to worry about the safety of consuming the water.
“If it’s doing that, what is it going to do to me if I’m drinking it?” he added.
Walters and his family don’t drink the water that comes out of their faucets. Instead, they drink and cook with bottled water that they buy in packs of 40. Their family dog doesn’t even drink water straight from the faucet.