At the Lumberton rate hike hearing, I had the honor of attending and giving testimony alongside the community members of Robeson County. I heard the pain in people’s voices as they spoke out about their bills rising essentially three times the price they had paid in the past. Many had lost faith in the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) but had not lost hope… As one woman testifying declared, “I call on God to get what I need, because when I call on y’all, I don’t get it!”
For those who haven’t heard, Duke Energy is attempting to raise our electric bills. After essentially being given free rein to write the N.C. Carbon Plan, which I’ve written about before, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is now considering an increase of nearly 17% on top of what we already pay for our energy rate prices. I mention the Carbon Plan because part of Duke’s excuse for raising our rates is due to the changes they will be implementing while enacting their proposed plan.
This is why I attended a rally with other climate justice activists, clergy members, community organizers, and concerned citizens. Before we walked into the building, we came together in prayer. In that moment–standing hand in hand with nearly 50 people–I could feel an immense energy of love, stress, and hope from those around me. This gave me the courage to deliver my testimony to the utilities commission, in front of a room of close to 100 community members, NCUC commissioners, and Duke representatives:
Around this time last year, I had just recently graduated college. Thrust into a world full of bills, work, and self-reliance… A few months ago, I had to start paying back my private student loans by myself. Upwards of a thousand dollars a month. I say all this to drive home the point: We are drowning this country’s youth in debt. We are driving minorities into poverty, and we are killing our Earth as we do it. We cannot afford an increase in our electric bills. I cannot afford an increase in my electric bills.
When prices rise, marginalized communities suffer the most. People of color
who have historically been used, abused, and kept from creating generational wealth will now have yet another obstacle in our way toward achieving stability.
The NC Utilities Commission must see what’s happening here is unjust. It’s not just about energy prices… It’s about people’s well-being during the climate crisis. It’s about the ability for people to live dignified lives without feeling the pains of energy burden. Yet when confronted with the truth, that solar and wind energy IS cheaper and cleaner than fossil fuels, energy companies cheapen our lives to whatever works for them even if it kills us. Please consider the plea of a poor college graduate, before you toss us all off the deep end.
I couldn’t help but break down in tears as I heard the stories of families struggling with their energy bills. Folks living on fixed incomes, food stamps, and survivors of multiple floods. A clergy member who was once an educator pleaded for the Utilities Commission to listen: “We have kids who don’t even have the resources to go to school… Give us a break; Robinson County needs a break.”
Duke claims the rates are rising to improve power outage resiliency and to build a clean energy future. They say this while planning to create more new gas lines–exacerbating the climate crisis. For the people of Robeson County, who spoke of intense flooding devastating their families and homes, the climate crisis is real, and so is the energy burden they are already feeling. If Duke Energy is to ever be held accountable for its actions, we must come out in full force and show the N.C. Utilities Commission that we need to change our broken system.
For those who could not attend an in-person hearing, I urge you to sign up for the virtual hearing to be held in April. Click here to sign up, before registration ends on April 13th! Looking for more actions to take? Join people of faith across the United States for a civic call to climate action.
To learn more and take action, check out the resources below:
