Apr 27 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Bruce Henderson The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

N.C. regulators will hear arguments this summer for what advocates say is a cheaper, cleaner alternative to new power plants -- use less electricity.

Old-fashioned conservation has been revived as an argument against the six nuclear reactors and three coal-fired units Carolinas utilities may build. Customers typically pay for the expensive plants through higher rates.

The N.C. Utilities Commission, at a June hearing, will scrutinize potential energy savings. Expert witnesses will also testify if utilities do enough to reduce electricity demand and accurately forecast future needs.

The hearing won't settle whether the plants go up. Those decisions will be made as the utilities apply to build them.

But rising fuel costs and utility projections of growing demand have resurrected interest in energy efficiency. Coal and natural gas prices have doubled in three years. Duke Energy hasn't opened a new coal or nuclear plant, which supply most of its power, in 20 years.

Energy-saving appliances and other efficiency measures could trim 6 percent from the state's energy use, according to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Other studies show that, in theory, plant and animal wastes could produce as much electricity as the two coal plants Duke Energy plans for Rutherford County.

Efficiency and renewable fuels, advocates say, could equal the output of new power plants or delay the need to build them.

For the billions of dollars that new plants will cost "you could weatherize every house or put solar panels on every house in North and South Carolina," said John Runkle, an attorney representing the N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network.

It's not that simple, Duke and commission officials say. North Carolina's rapid growth makes it unlikely that energy-saving appliances and insulation can offset power demands, they say, whole renewable sources like wind and solar power are still expensive and less reliable.

Advocates "can stand up and make these pronouncements, but you've got to go do it," said Ben Turner of the commission's public staff, which aids consumers. "These aren't the doers."

Polls show Americans like the idea of conservation, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press reported in February. But N.C. residents rank ninth-highest nationally in per-capita electricity use, the Energy Information Administration says.

"As we chart our energy future for the next few decades, it certainly makes sense for all options to be on the table," said utilities commissioner James Kerr of Raleigh. "And efficiency and renewables are part of that."

The commission will study whether the state should set a goal for electricity to be produced by renewable sources.

Janice Hager, a Duke vice president, said the company considered demand-lowering strategies and may expand them. But it concluded that conventional plants promise customers the cheapest electricity.

Duke forecasts a 1.6 percent increase in annual retail sales -- slightly lower than the past 15 years -- through 2015. Some production capacity will be lost as older plants retire and pollution controls installed.

"What we're doing is preserving our options," Hager said. "Our analyses show that new coal (plants) in 2011 and nuclear in 2015 is the best way to go."

Critics say nuclear plants are risky. Coal is a major polluter.

North Carolina's rate structure, they add, gives utilities no reason to curb demand.

"Every reduction in kilowatt-hours sold is a reduction in profit," said Ivan Urlaub of the N.C. Sustainable Energy Association.

Duke expects demand-control programs to lower its summer peak load by 4 percent over the next decade. But some energy-saving programs have stalled.

In 1993, Duke stopped offering new N.C. customers an option to reduce bills by intermittently cutting off their water heaters. Until fuel costs rose, Duke found it cheaper to buy wholesale power in times of high demand.

Customers like the discounts they get by volunteering for such programs, Duke says, but turn fickle when they're inconvenienced. "Customer support can go away quickly," Hager said.

North Carolina ranks 46th in spending on efficiency programs, the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says. South Carolina ranks 26th.

"It's like being a junkie," said Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "They get you hooked but then won't help you manage it."

N.C. Utilities Commission Hearing

The commission will hear from non-expert members of the public on the annual plans of utilities at 7 p.m. Monday. The hearing will be in Commission Hearing Room 2115, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh. A hearing for technical experts will be June 27.

The Debate Over Energy Sources

Duke Energy and Raleigh's Progress Energy say they need to build new coal-fired or nuclear plants to meet future demand. Construction costs, which would total billions of dollars, are typically passed on to electricity customers. Alternative-energy advocates say energy efficiency -- getting more work from the same amount of electricity -- and renewable sources such as farm wastes could save customers money. The N.C. Utilities Commission will hear the debate in June.

 

Bruce Henderson: (704) 358-5051.