MEG JAMISON: Local governments call for strong, affordable carbon plan

EDITOR'S NOTE: Meg Jamison is the Executive Director for the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network based in Asheville, NC. It is a network of over 100 local governments representing 10 southeastern states, with the mission to support and scale sustainability and resilience best practices.

The state of North Carolina is a patchwork of diverse communities. Local governments of all sizes manage the day-to-day business of what happens in our cities, counties, towns, and municipalities, representing the on-the-ground interests of their constituents and residents.

They are on the frontlines, always seeking to maintain and improve the quality of life for the people who live and work in their communities. As the impacts of climate change and more severe storms and flooding continue to wreak havoc on local economies and personal property, it’s become increasingly clear to our local governments that they must take their own actions to address the root cause of these damaging impacts by reducing carbon emissions.

Many local governments, among them the cities of Raleigh, Charlotte, and Durham, have established long-term sustainability goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, buildings and vehicles, increase the use of clean energy, and deliver immediate environmental and public health benefits to the communities they serve – all of which, will make electricity customers’ monthly bills more affordable.

Their goals turn intention into action: installing solar panels on government buildings, implementing energy efficiency measures in local facilities, electrifying their fleets, and increasing electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Local governments have two driving interests in ensuring the electricity grid is decarbonized in a thoughtful and cost-effective manner: a desire to meet their own internal goals; and their responsibility to the communities they serve, including to protect health, safety, and the environment; promote a clean energy economy; and provide reliable and clean transportation options in ways that promote equity and improve the quality of life.

Local governments are making meaningful contributions toward reducing harmful carbon emissions, but in North Carolina those local governments do not have a choice of energy providers, and rely on their designated provider - primarily Duke Energy - to meet their energy needs. It is important to local governments that Duke Energy make choices about energy sources that further reduce emissions, complementing efforts at the local level to create a cleaner, healthier state, and to protect North Carolinians from the expensive costs associated with a volatile global fossil fuel market.

Eight local governments (Boone, Chapel Hill, Chatham County, Durham, Hillsborough, Greensboro, Matthews, Raleigh), which represent 1.2 million North Carolinians, recently made the bold decision to engage in the NC Utilities Commission’s current process to develop our state’s first Carbon Plan that must be approved by December 31. Highlighting their shared role in reducing statewide emissions, they are urging the Commission to ensure any plan that is ultimately approved results in a sustainable, reliable, affordable, resilient, and equitable energy system.

Critical among the local governments’ recommendations to the Commission is to acknowledge and take account in any Carbon Plan for understanding how energy decisions affect the overall affordability and livability of their communities. High energy costs are a major contributor to economic insecurity, and many low-income North Carolinians also suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change and power plant pollution.

As some of the utilities’ largest customers, local government leaders are acutely aware of the role that clean energy investments can play in keeping costs reasonable and predictable over the long-term, hedging against volatile fuel prices, and delivering significant economic benefits to North Carolinians, as well as public and environmental health, resilience, and other non-energy benefits.

In fact, Synapse Energy Economics developed and submitted a proposed Carbon Plan to the Utilities Commission, which recommends a higher level of energy efficiency programs, renewable energy, and battery storage above Duke Energy’s proposal that was submitted in May – and found that it would save ratepayers between $700 million and $2.4 billion by 2030, and $19.4 to $24.6 billion by 2050.

The development and implementation of North Carolina’s Carbon Plan is a significant priority for North Carolina’s local governments. Historically, Duke Energy and the NC Utilities Commission have both been essential partners for implementing local governments’ climate and clean energy plans; they remain so today and as we look to the state’s future. If executed according to the timeline and targets set within House Bill 951, achieving a 70 percent carbon reduction by 2030, this effort will represent a pivotal opportunity to increase collaboration and achieve greater benefits for our state and our fellow residents.

Local governments are committed to finding solutions that will accelerate a more affordable, cleaner, equitable, resilient, and reliable energy system. Through continued partnership on a strong Carbon Plan, they are poised to demonstrate to both North Carolinians and the nation what collaborative clean energy leadership looks like, setting North Carolina on a path to meet its emission reduction goals and improve the quality of life for each one of our communities.