The North Carolina General Assembly is considering a bill
that would force electricity users to pay for investments in “green
energy.” Supporters say the measure would lead to long-term
savings even though people’s monthly power bills would increase.
More than 30 different environmental and advocacy groups announced
their support for the NC SAVE$ ENERGY legislation, which is sponsored
by Rep. Dan Blue D-Wake.
“This legislation is critical to the future prosperity of
North Carolina’s economy, environment, and people,”
Blue said in announcing the legislation last week. “Today,
we are taking action towards saving energy, lowering energy utility
costs, and reducing pollution, all while adding thousands of jobs
to North Carolina’s economy.”
The legislation would appoint an independent energy-efficiency
administrator for the state. The bill’s language says the
energy savings would “lower customers’ energy bills
and reduce the environmental impact of energy production, delivery
and use.”
The NC SAVE$ ENERGY program will invest in efficiency measures
in communities across the state, and will be run by an independent
non-profit group instead of relying on energy industries to operate
their own “green” programs. This will help avoid what
advocates say is a conflict of interest: promoting energy efficiency
while making profits on the amount of energy used.
A surcharge of $.0017 per kilowatt-hour on residential electricity
consumers and two cents per therm for residential natural gas
customers would go into a public-benefits fund, with a maximum
of 10 percent of the funds used for administrative purposes.
The surcharge amount would be reviewed annually, and low-income
households would be exempt from the surcharge.
The legislation would use portions of the funds raised for efficiency
projects in public buildings, non-profit hospitals and schools.
It would also create jobs for energy auditors and conservation
consultants, as well as sparking manufacturing and construction
industries.
The average increase in residential bills is estimated to be less
than $2 per month, with the goal of offsetting the increases with
savings through energy efficiency, better construction and a reduction
in the number of new coal-fired or nuclear power plants that are
built.
House Bill 1050 was filed Apr. 2 and the full text is available
at www.ncleg.net.
Get Firefox