Duke Merger Settlement Agreement Reached in South Carolina

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Following North Carolina Approval, Stage Set for Final Merger

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A settlement agreement was reached by groups, including the Sierra Club, with Duke Energy on its proposed merger of its subsidiaries in South Carolina. A Sierra Club priority included in the settlement agreement is the commitment from Duke Energy to pursue at least 70 megawatts of new grid flexibility in the winter, known as demand response.

Key to the settlement provisions for Duke Energy customer cost-savings is the accurate tracking of benefits from the merger over the next 14 years, and if the alleged savings fall short, the monopoly utility shareholders will make up the financial difference.

The Sierra Club was a party to previously approved settlements with Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas; both settlements required the Public Service Commission to open a docket on large load tariffs, which the Sierra Club supports because it could result in consumer protections for residential and traditional businesses if designed appropriately.

The South Carolina settlement agreement was filed late Friday afternoon, and can be found here. Sierra Club’s expert witness testimony can be found here. A settlement agreement was reached in North Carolina in February, setting the stage for approval by utility regulators in each state.

Statement from Paul Black, Sierra Club’s Senior Campaign Organizer in South Carolina: 

“Our engagement has been laser-focused on consumer protections and affordability for South Carolina families and small businesses, and one of the best ways to do that is by investing in alternatives to building new costly and polluting resources. Duke’s regulators at the Public Service Commission must turn their attention to establishing strong consumer protections that require tech companies, not families, to pay for all of the energy and infrastructure costs for new data centers, and the Sierra Club has laid the groundwork to make that happen.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.