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After months of uncertainty, Senate Bill 559 has passed the North Carolina Senate, bringing with it the potential for changes to the way the state sets electricity rates.
Long a priority of Duke Energy, SB 559 stands to alter the way regulators approve rate increases and control company profits.
After passing the Senate 26-16, the bill heads back to the House where Rep. David Lewis (R-Harnett) said he thinks it will have more favorable results than it has previoulsy.
The bill, which could on the way to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk should it pass the House has two sections, one of which would change the way Duke and other utilities finance repairs after major storms.
Although critics have charged that many of the changes only stand to increase Duke’s profit margins at taxpayers’ expense, Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cararrus), a former Duke executive and a member of the House-Senate committee, disagrees.
"If you're a consumer advocate ... you should love this bill," Newton told WRAL, pointing to the way the bill caps utility returns as being in the best interest of consumers.
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