Sue Sturgis
@suesturgis.bsky.social
Researcher with the Energy and Policy Institute. Dog, cat, and plant nerd. Antifascist. Raleigh, NC.
The news about the reimbursements comes after WRAL’s consumer reporter pressed Duke Energy for answers on how the company planned to make things right.
Duke Energy to reimburse Creedmoor residents for damages after Thanksgiving week outages
Duke Energy announced it will reimburse Creedmoor customers for damages, such as to HVAC systems and appliances, caused by its equipment failure during a power outage the day before Thanksgiving.
www.wral.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The news about the reimbursements comes after WRAL’s consumer reporter pressed Duke Energy for answers on how the company planned to make things right.
North Carolina law requires Duke Energy's rates to be set for three years at a time. But the company's latest rate hike request addresses only two years of rates, leading a group of industrial users to cry foul.
Industrial group challenges Duke Energy rate increase as unlawful • NC Newsline
The Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility Rates, or CIGFUR, is asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission to deem Duke Energy’s rate increase application incomplete, or to reject the proposal...
ncnewsline.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:29 PM
North Carolina law requires Duke Energy's rates to be set for three years at a time. But the company's latest rate hike request addresses only two years of rates, leading a group of industrial users to cry foul.
Three years later, we have no answers on who's responsible for the attack on Duke Energy infrastructure that left more than 45,000 people without power for a week and resulted in the death of 87-year-old Karin Zoanelli. Few details have been released about the investigation.
Targeted attack on Duke Energy power grids in Moore County remains unsolved
The December 2022 targeted attack on Duke Energy power grids left more than 45,000 people without electricity for five days.
abc11.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Three years later, we have no answers on who's responsible for the attack on Duke Energy infrastructure that left more than 45,000 people without power for a week and resulted in the death of 87-year-old Karin Zoanelli. Few details have been released about the investigation.
Climate justice group NC WARN wrote to Gov. Josh Stein today, asking him to oppose Duke Energy's plans to build new nuclear reactors in the Carolinas, citing the industry's extreme cost overruns and many project failures that have cost customers and taxpayers dearly. www.ncwarn.org/wp-content/u...
December 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Climate justice group NC WARN wrote to Gov. Josh Stein today, asking him to oppose Duke Energy's plans to build new nuclear reactors in the Carolinas, citing the industry's extreme cost overruns and many project failures that have cost customers and taxpayers dearly. www.ncwarn.org/wp-content/u...
In short, yes, except under a few narrow circumstances -- but it doesn't have to be that way. There are states that completely ban cutoffs during the winter, and North Carolina could do so, too.
Can an NC utility company turn off your power during a cold snap?
State law prevents utility companies from shutting off power for some residents.
www.newsobserver.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:01 PM
In short, yes, except under a few narrow circumstances -- but it doesn't have to be that way. There are states that completely ban cutoffs during the winter, and North Carolina could do so, too.
NC's Triangle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is collecting signatures on petitions to get solar energy bonds on next year's ballots in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties, and in the cities of Durham and Raleigh, with the goal of solarizing public buildings. Links to petitions below.
December 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
NC's Triangle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is collecting signatures on petitions to get solar energy bonds on next year's ballots in Wake, Durham, and Orange counties, and in the cities of Durham and Raleigh, with the goal of solarizing public buildings. Links to petitions below.
"Customers in South Carolina were significant outliers in terms of outage duration, the report said, experiencing an average of 53 hours of outages in 2024. Much of this was due to last September’s Hurricane Helene, which left 1.2 million customers in South Carolina without electricity."
Americans lost more power last year than any year in previous decade: EIA
The annual average of 11 hours of electricity interruptions was nearly double the annual average of the last ten years, with hurricanes a leading cause.
www.utilitydive.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:55 PM
"Customers in South Carolina were significant outliers in terms of outage duration, the report said, experiencing an average of 53 hours of outages in 2024. Much of this was due to last September’s Hurricane Helene, which left 1.2 million customers in South Carolina without electricity."
Good ideas from a leading scholar of energy policy.
Electricity prices are soaring while utilities rake in billions in profit. Here's three ideas to bring bills down:
1) Make power cheap in the middle of the day
2) Stop utility profiteering
3) Keep climate impacts off bills
My latest in @theatlantic.com.
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
1) Make power cheap in the middle of the day
2) Stop utility profiteering
3) Keep climate impacts off bills
My latest in @theatlantic.com.
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...
Three Ideas for Lowering Electricity Costs
For starters, recognize that clean energy is cheap energy.
www.theatlantic.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Good ideas from a leading scholar of energy policy.
North Carolina's governor and attorney general are opposing Duke Energy's proposed rate hikes for its North Carolina utilities. www.qcnews.com/news/duke-en...
December 3, 2025 at 3:41 PM
North Carolina's governor and attorney general are opposing Duke Energy's proposed rate hikes for its North Carolina utilities. www.qcnews.com/news/duke-en...
In a setback for Duke Energy, the U.S. solicitor general opposes the company's request for the Supreme Court to review an anti-monopoly lawsuit over its attempt to block Florida-based NTE from competing to provide electricity to the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Feds oppose Duke Energy’s SCOTUS appeal in anti-monopoly case
The US solicitor general opposes Duke Energy’s request to have the nation’s highest court review an anti-monopoly lawsuit against the utility company.
www.carolinajournal.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:26 PM
In a setback for Duke Energy, the U.S. solicitor general opposes the company's request for the Supreme Court to review an anti-monopoly lawsuit over its attempt to block Florida-based NTE from competing to provide electricity to the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"Utilities must justify any rate increases and convince regulators of the need for their actions," writes James Baratta in his examination of the industry's structural illogic. "But 2025 may be the year that this regulatory framework collapses under its own contradictions."
Lightning in a Bottle - The American Prospect
Regulatory capture is at the root of the affordability crisis in electricity. Public power could offer a way out.
prospect.org
December 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
"Utilities must justify any rate increases and convince regulators of the need for their actions," writes James Baratta in his examination of the industry's structural illogic. "But 2025 may be the year that this regulatory framework collapses under its own contradictions."
The Charlotte Observer has published a must-read investigation into the speculation and secrecy surrounding the development of data centers in North Carolina.
Charlotte’s data center surge — pricey, power-hungry and shrouded in secrecy
Big Tech is pouring billions into Carolinas data centers to meet AI demand. But the public remains in the dark on the scope of what’s here and what’s coming.
www.charlotteobserver.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
The Charlotte Observer has published a must-read investigation into the speculation and secrecy surrounding the development of data centers in North Carolina.
A day after Duke Energy submits rate hikes for both of its North Carolina utilities... www.barrons.com/livecoverage...
Con Ed Stock Drops After Mamdani, Trump Call for Lower Electricity Rates
Shares of New York utility Con Edison fell after Trump and Mamdani both said the utility should lower its rates.
The two were responding to reporters’ questions in a press conference in the Oval Offic...
www.barrons.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:13 PM
A day after Duke Energy submits rate hikes for both of its North Carolina utilities... www.barrons.com/livecoverage...
Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. That overlapped with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period.
New analysis shows more US consumers are falling behind on their utility bills
A new analysis of consumer data shows that more people in the United States are falling behind on their utility bills.
apnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. That overlapped with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period.
A new brief from the Center for Progressive Reform looks at alternatives to investor-owned utilities -- including electric cooperatives, publicly owned utilities, and community choice aggregators -- for achieving an equitable, clean energy transition.
Advancing a Clean, Equitable Energy Transition through Alternatives to Investor-Owned Utilities - Center for Progressive Reform
The energy sector needs creative solutions for addressing the worsening and unevenly distributed impacts of climate change. There is growing scientific consensus that we have already surpassed 1.5 deg...
progressivereform.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A new brief from the Center for Progressive Reform looks at alternatives to investor-owned utilities -- including electric cooperatives, publicly owned utilities, and community choice aggregators -- for achieving an equitable, clean energy transition.
Duke Energy once loudly proclaimed its commitment to diversity and environmental initiatives, but now it's distancing themselves from those promises while declining to talk about it.
Duke Energy, Once Outspoken on Diversity and the Environment, Now Whispers
North Carolina’s largest utility once promoted DEI efforts and environmental progress. Now evidence of the effort is harder to find.
www.theassemblync.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Duke Energy once loudly proclaimed its commitment to diversity and environmental initiatives, but now it's distancing themselves from those promises while declining to talk about it.
Energy costs could be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
Rising energy bills are rewiring American politics
Tuesday's election results suggest energy costs may be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
grist.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Energy costs could be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
Once a major coal-burning nation, Australia has moved to solar power -- and now electricity is so cheap the government is literally giving it away.
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Once a major coal-burning nation, Australia has moved to solar power -- and now electricity is so cheap the government is literally giving it away.
"The Southern Environment Law Center says it’s a question of whether these credits 'add' something new to the grid or are just subsidizing actions the company had to take anyway under state regulations."
Clean energy group appeals state regulators' decision to approve controversial Duke Energy program
A clean energy group is claiming that a Duke Energy program would fool customers into buying clean energy credits that don’t actually generate new clean energy.
www.whqr.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:12 PM
"The Southern Environment Law Center says it’s a question of whether these credits 'add' something new to the grid or are just subsidizing actions the company had to take anyway under state regulations."
The Duke Energy PAC is a major supporter of the North Carolina lawmakers who led the recent congressional redistricting, and over the last decade and a half it's been contributing disproportionately to Republican legislators compared to their actual numbers in Raleigh.
Duke Energy money fuels North Carolina Republicans as they pursue latest gerrymander
Duke Energy has quietly become one of the most powerful funders behind North Carolina’s Republican Party and politicians, at a time when state GOP leaders have pursued their latest congressional gerry...
energyandpolicy.org
November 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
The Duke Energy PAC is a major supporter of the North Carolina lawmakers who led the recent congressional redistricting, and over the last decade and a half it's been contributing disproportionately to Republican legislators compared to their actual numbers in Raleigh.
"In a study I led earlier this year, my colleagues and I found that if big new power users curbed demand just 0.25 percent of the time — about 22 hours a year — the United States could accommodate more data centers without burdening household electricity users," says Duke University's Tyler Norris.
Opinion | A Simple Fix to America’s Soaring Electricity Prices
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:07 PM
"In a study I led earlier this year, my colleagues and I found that if big new power users curbed demand just 0.25 percent of the time — about 22 hours a year — the United States could accommodate more data centers without burdening household electricity users," says Duke University's Tyler Norris.
“If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states.”
A Company Eyes What Would Be North Carolina’s First Commercial Natural Gas Well - Inside Climate News
Deep River Data, with ties to cryptocurrency, says it would use the extracted gas to power a data center for “AI workloads,” not crypto mines.
insideclimatenews.org
November 1, 2025 at 3:38 PM
“If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states.”
A TVA-like federal authority for offshore wind? "We have to think about big, ambitious solutions like this. Is this actually an opportunity to lower costs, not just decarb?" asks Bozuwa. "Are there ways to think about that to build an enduring political coalition?"
Should the Government Just Own Offshore Wind Farms?
A chat with with Johanna Bozuwa of the Climate and Community Institute.
heatmap.news
October 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
A TVA-like federal authority for offshore wind? "We have to think about big, ambitious solutions like this. Is this actually an opportunity to lower costs, not just decarb?" asks Bozuwa. "Are there ways to think about that to build an enduring political coalition?"
"Bills are going to go up — dramatically," said Kerwin Olson of Indiana's Citizens Action Coalition. Ratepayers "can't afford to pay what they're paying today. And disappointingly, the commission somehow justified that this proposal satisfies the affordability pillar of state policy."
Duke gets approval for two new gas units but does not have to shutter aging coal plants
After months of controversy, Duke received approval for two new natural gas units — and clean energy incentives to build them.
www.indystar.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:13 PM
"Bills are going to go up — dramatically," said Kerwin Olson of Indiana's Citizens Action Coalition. Ratepayers "can't afford to pay what they're paying today. And disappointingly, the commission somehow justified that this proposal satisfies the affordability pillar of state policy."
"This isn't a myth or fake news ... prices are indeed going up, and voters at some point are going to be asking, 'Who's responsible for this?'" said Heather Reams, president and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.
Residential electricity prices up more than 6% in August: EIA
Developers, analysts and policy professionals see growing cause for concern as costs rise.
www.utilitydive.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"This isn't a myth or fake news ... prices are indeed going up, and voters at some point are going to be asking, 'Who's responsible for this?'" said Heather Reams, president and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.