Duke Energy wants to push coal basin cleanup costs onto its customers
The bill is finally coming due and Duke Energys electric utility in North Carolina wants its customers, not its shareholders, to pay for the companys ongoing management of coal ash at its coal-fired power plants across the state and the closure of coal ash basins.
Duke Energy plans to file a general rate case application with state regulators on June 1 that will include a request to raise its customers rates to cover the coal basin costs.
In February 2014, more than 80,000 tons of coal ash a toxic byproduct of coal burning that can contain lead, mercury, and arsenic spilled from Duke Energys retired Dan River coal-fired power plant in North Carolina. Duke Energy said publicly at the time that the company and its shareholders would pay for cleanup of the Dan River and any other environmental effects from the spill.
But Duke Energy said any costs related to other actions shown necessary for long-term coal ash solutions at Dukes 33 basins in the state, including at the Dan River site, would likely be passed on to ratepayers.
https://thinkprogress.org/duke-seeks-to-raise-customer-rates-c6023c8daaa7