WASHINGTON – The Duke Energy Accountability Coalition’s People’s Commission will convene its second hearing on May 4 to shine a light on Duke’s policies and practices that resist clean energy solutions and rely heavily on fossil fuels that stand squarely in the way of addressing the climate emergency.
The People’s Commission will hear testimony from an array of experts about Duke’s dismal record of greenwashing and foot-dragging on clean energy. The utility is one of the worst in the U.S. when it comes to investing in renewables, energy storage and energy efficiency for its ratepayers to keep rates affordable and address the climate emergency.
Those who will testify before the commission include:
- Jennifer Washburn, general counsel at Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana.
- Heaven Campbell, Florida program director for Solar United Neighbors.
- Cathy Buckley, director of statewide organizing at NC Alliance To Protect Our People and the Places We Live.
“There is no other electric utility in the U.S. that has done so little to reduce its own contribution to the climate emergency than Duke Energy,” said Donna Chavis, senior fossil fuels campaigner for Friends of the Earth and chair of the People’s Commission. “Duke continues to ignore the perils of the climate crisis by clinging to fossil fuels and consistently deploying greenwashing tactics in an effort to conceal its failure to transition to renewable sources of energy throughout its multi-state territory.”
“This upcoming hearing by the Commission will throw a spotlight on Duke and how it lags far behind other utilities in taking the necessary and urgent steps required to dramatically reduce its reliance on dirty and dangerous sources of electricity,” said Chavis.
The People’s Commission is an independent watchdog acting solely in the public interest, free from the political and economic influence Duke wields with regulators, lawmakers and other elected officials throughout its six-state territory.
The commission held its first hearing on Jan. 29. Noted advocates and experts testified on Duke’s shameful record on environmental and social justice, which has harmed low-income communities and communities of color in many of the regions where it operates.
The Duke Energy Accountability Coalition is made up of public interest, social justice, watchdog and environmental groups that have joined forces to hold the nation’s largest investor-owned U.S. electric utility accountable for its policies, which affect almost eight million Americans in six states and impede the nation’s progress toward a clean energy future.
The virtual hearing will be live starting at 9:30 a.m. EST on May 4 and can be viewed on the Coalition’s website.
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The Duke Energy Accountability Coalition is a project of 350 Charlotte, 350 Triangle, Appalachian Voices, Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, the Energy and Policy Institute, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Kentucky Conservation Committee, NC WARN, the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, and Ohio Citizen Action.
