NC Justice Center urges Gov. Stein to veto SB 266 to defend ratepayer interests

RALEIGH, NC (June 20, 2025) – State legislators hastily passed the misleadingly named, “Power Bill Reduction Act,” SB 266, on June 19, 2025. The bill now sits on Governor Stein’s desk, and the NC Justice Center respectfully requests a veto of this unjust legislation.

SB 266 will harm hundreds of thousands of lower-income families across our state, who already have utility bills that they cannot afford. This legislation shifts risks and costs away from utility shareholders and industrial customers and places those burdens on residential customers by changing power plant financing protections and fuel cost allocations.

“Instead of taking steps to protect people in North Carolina from rising energy bills, state lawmakers have chosen a path that enriches Duke Energy shareholders,” said Claire Williamson, Senior Energy Policy Advocate at the NC Justice Center. “Our state’s wealthiest companies should not get even more financial rewards at the expense of North Carolina households, which is what this legislation does.”

SB 266 will make adequately heating and cooling a home unaffordable for the hundreds of thousands of North Carolina families already struggling to pay their monthly utility bills. Meanwhile, Duke Energy shareholders will reduce their financial risk by requiring North Carolina customers to pay up front for the interest on the construction of large power plants — before they are built or operational.

If the power plant project goes over budget, NC’s ratepayers, instead of the utility shareholders, would be on the hook to cover the increased expenses. If the power plant is never completed, ratepayers would have paid upfront for the project without receiving any benefit in return, while the shareholders still profit. This precise scenario happened to ratepayers in South Carolina and Florida, who are now burdened with paying for power plants that were never finished. When asked in a recent poll conducted by Conservatives for Clean Energy, 85% of North Carolinians said they oppose this type of upfront customer financing model.

This legislation further hurts NC families by changing the way fuel and purchased power costs are allocated between the rate classes (residential, commercial, industrial). The Public Staff of the NC Utility Commission estimates SB 266 will result in a $24.8 million cost shift at minimum from non-residential customers to residential customers. Changing the way fuel costs are split as described in this legislation would burden NC families with higher energy bills while our state’s largest companies pay less.

SB 266 is a handout to the state’s largest companies at the expense of everyday people, and a bad deal for ratepayers in North Carolina. Therefore, the NC Justice Center is urging Governor Stein to veto SB 266.

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