NC Utilities Commission Issues Order on Payments to Independent Power Producers

Chapel Hill, N.C.-The North Carolina Utilities Commission issued an order late yesterday in its biennial proceeding to set the rates that the state’s monopoly electric utilities must pay when they buy power from independent power producers, such as solar companies. Earlier in the proceeding, the Commission rejected changes proposed by Duke Energy and Dominion, and recognized that independent power producers have a right to fair rates and contract terms when they sell power to the state’s electric utilities. In yesterday’s order, the Commission required the utilities to revise their proposed rates and contracts and file new versions within 30 days.

“Thanks to the Utilities Commission’s ruling, the outlook for renewable energy in North Carolina remains sunny. The rates and standard contract terms required by the Commission will allow independent power producers a fair opportunity to keep selling clean, renewable power to our state’s electric utilities, creating jobs and allowing utilities to pass on the benefits of cost-effective renewable energy to their customers,” said Gudrun Thompson, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in the proceedings.

A copy of the Commission’s Order can be found here.

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Southern Environmental Law Center:

The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of nearly 60 legal and policy experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use. www.SouthernEnvironment.org

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy:

Founded in 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible energy choices that work to address the impacts of global climate change and ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org