Sue Sturgis
@suesturgis.bsky.social
Energy policy researcher. Dog, cat, and plant nerd. Antifascist. Raleigh, NC.
Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. That overlapped with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period.
New analysis shows more US consumers are falling behind on their utility bills
A new analysis of consumer data shows that more people in the United States are falling behind on their utility bills.
apnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Past due balances to utility companies jumped 9.7% annually to $789 between the April-June periods of 2024 and 2025, said The Century Foundation, a liberal think tank, and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers. That overlapped with a 12% jump in monthly energy bills during the same period.
A new brief from the Center for Progressive Reform looks at alternatives to investor-owned utilities -- including electric cooperatives, publicly owned utilities, and community choice aggregators -- for achieving an equitable, clean energy transition.
Advancing a Clean, Equitable Energy Transition through Alternatives to Investor-Owned Utilities - Center for Progressive Reform
The energy sector needs creative solutions for addressing the worsening and unevenly distributed impacts of climate change. There is growing scientific consensus that we have already surpassed 1.5 deg...
progressivereform.org
November 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A new brief from the Center for Progressive Reform looks at alternatives to investor-owned utilities -- including electric cooperatives, publicly owned utilities, and community choice aggregators -- for achieving an equitable, clean energy transition.
Duke Energy once loudly proclaimed its commitment to diversity and environmental initiatives, but now it's distancing themselves from those promises while declining to talk about it.
Duke Energy, Once Outspoken on Diversity and the Environment, Now Whispers
North Carolina’s largest utility once promoted DEI efforts and environmental progress. Now evidence of the effort is harder to find.
www.theassemblync.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Duke Energy once loudly proclaimed its commitment to diversity and environmental initiatives, but now it's distancing themselves from those promises while declining to talk about it.
Energy costs could be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
Rising energy bills are rewiring American politics
Tuesday's election results suggest energy costs may be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
grist.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Energy costs could be moving the political needle in ways that other issues, like climate change, have not.
Once a major coal-burning nation, Australia has moved to solar power -- and now electricity is so cheap the government is literally giving it away.
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Once a major coal-burning nation, Australia has moved to solar power -- and now electricity is so cheap the government is literally giving it away.
"The Southern Environment Law Center says it’s a question of whether these credits 'add' something new to the grid or are just subsidizing actions the company had to take anyway under state regulations."
Clean energy group appeals state regulators' decision to approve controversial Duke Energy program
A clean energy group is claiming that a Duke Energy program would fool customers into buying clean energy credits that don’t actually generate new clean energy.
www.whqr.org
November 6, 2025 at 5:12 PM
"The Southern Environment Law Center says it’s a question of whether these credits 'add' something new to the grid or are just subsidizing actions the company had to take anyway under state regulations."
The Duke Energy PAC is a major supporter of the North Carolina lawmakers who led the recent congressional redistricting, and over the last decade and a half it's been contributing disproportionately to Republican legislators compared to their actual numbers in Raleigh.
Duke Energy money fuels North Carolina Republicans as they pursue latest gerrymander
Duke Energy has quietly become one of the most powerful funders behind North Carolina’s Republican Party and politicians, at a time when state GOP leaders have pursued their latest congressional gerry...
energyandpolicy.org
November 5, 2025 at 9:02 PM
The Duke Energy PAC is a major supporter of the North Carolina lawmakers who led the recent congressional redistricting, and over the last decade and a half it's been contributing disproportionately to Republican legislators compared to their actual numbers in Raleigh.
"In a study I led earlier this year, my colleagues and I found that if big new power users curbed demand just 0.25 percent of the time — about 22 hours a year — the United States could accommodate more data centers without burdening household electricity users," says Duke University's Tyler Norris.
Opinion | A Simple Fix to America’s Soaring Electricity Prices
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:07 PM
"In a study I led earlier this year, my colleagues and I found that if big new power users curbed demand just 0.25 percent of the time — about 22 hours a year — the United States could accommodate more data centers without burdening household electricity users," says Duke University's Tyler Norris.
“If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states.”
A Company Eyes What Would Be North Carolina’s First Commercial Natural Gas Well - Inside Climate News
Deep River Data, with ties to cryptocurrency, says it would use the extracted gas to power a data center for “AI workloads,” not crypto mines.
insideclimatenews.org
November 1, 2025 at 3:38 PM
“If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states.”
A TVA-like federal authority for offshore wind? "We have to think about big, ambitious solutions like this. Is this actually an opportunity to lower costs, not just decarb?" asks Bozuwa. "Are there ways to think about that to build an enduring political coalition?"
Should the Government Just Own Offshore Wind Farms?
A chat with with Johanna Bozuwa of the Climate and Community Institute.
heatmap.news
October 31, 2025 at 8:04 PM
A TVA-like federal authority for offshore wind? "We have to think about big, ambitious solutions like this. Is this actually an opportunity to lower costs, not just decarb?" asks Bozuwa. "Are there ways to think about that to build an enduring political coalition?"
"Bills are going to go up — dramatically," said Kerwin Olson of Indiana's Citizens Action Coalition. Ratepayers "can't afford to pay what they're paying today. And disappointingly, the commission somehow justified that this proposal satisfies the affordability pillar of state policy."
Duke gets approval for two new gas units but does not have to shutter aging coal plants
After months of controversy, Duke received approval for two new natural gas units — and clean energy incentives to build them.
www.indystar.com
October 30, 2025 at 5:13 PM
"Bills are going to go up — dramatically," said Kerwin Olson of Indiana's Citizens Action Coalition. Ratepayers "can't afford to pay what they're paying today. And disappointingly, the commission somehow justified that this proposal satisfies the affordability pillar of state policy."
"This isn't a myth or fake news ... prices are indeed going up, and voters at some point are going to be asking, 'Who's responsible for this?'" said Heather Reams, president and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.
Residential electricity prices up more than 6% in August: EIA
Developers, analysts and policy professionals see growing cause for concern as costs rise.
www.utilitydive.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"This isn't a myth or fake news ... prices are indeed going up, and voters at some point are going to be asking, 'Who's responsible for this?'" said Heather Reams, president and CEO of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions.
It was 20 years ago that 69% of voters in Winter Park, Florida, opted to divorce Progress Energy, now Duke Energy. Power bills in the city are now 28% lower than Duke's, and the city has used the profits it makes to bury 81% of power lines, meaning fewer outages during major storms.
Pinellas cities wanting to unplug from Duke Energy should energize themselves for a battle
Two cities could find themselves in a legal battle that could take years and tens of millions of dollars. We take a look at one city that did — and what others could learn from it.
www.wusf.org
October 27, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It was 20 years ago that 69% of voters in Winter Park, Florida, opted to divorce Progress Energy, now Duke Energy. Power bills in the city are now 28% lower than Duke's, and the city has used the profits it makes to bury 81% of power lines, meaning fewer outages during major storms.
The case centers around whether Duke Energy prevented NTE, a Florida-based builder and operator of power plants, from negotiating with the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina, by offering discounts and disrupting the construction of a new NTE power plant.
SCOTUS considers fate of NC energy giant
A case potentially being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this term could decide the future of Duke Energy’s business practices. “Duke Energy v. NTE Carolinas”, which involves the company’s operations ...
wfuogb.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
The case centers around whether Duke Energy prevented NTE, a Florida-based builder and operator of power plants, from negotiating with the city of Fayetteville, North Carolina, by offering discounts and disrupting the construction of a new NTE power plant.
Happening this Sunday in Raleigh.
October 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Happening this Sunday in Raleigh.
Reposted by Sue Sturgis
Always a utility at the center of some bullshit.
Micron Technology Inc.
Microsoft Corp.
NextEra Energy Inc.
Palantir Technologies Inc.
Ripple
Reynolds American Inc.
T-Mobile US Inc.
Tether
Union Pacific Railroad
J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
Adelson Family Foundation
Stefan E. Brodie
Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
2/3
Microsoft Corp.
NextEra Energy Inc.
Palantir Technologies Inc.
Ripple
Reynolds American Inc.
T-Mobile US Inc.
Tether
Union Pacific Railroad
J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
Adelson Family Foundation
Stefan E. Brodie
Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
2/3
October 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Always a utility at the center of some bullshit.
“Lease sales in southern and central Californian waters would be available in 2027; East Coast areas would open in 2028, according to the internal plans.“
Exclusive: Leaked documents detail Trump's plans to open East and West coasts to offshore oil drilling
The Trump administration plans to open whole swaths of the East and West Coasts to offshore drilling, including areas previously protected for environmental reasons, documents show.
www.yahoo.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:23 PM
“Lease sales in southern and central Californian waters would be available in 2027; East Coast areas would open in 2028, according to the internal plans.“
If you care about keeping bills down while transitioning to clean energy, read this report. statesleadtheway.justsolutionscollective.org/wp-content/u...
October 22, 2025 at 9:55 PM
If you care about keeping bills down while transitioning to clean energy, read this report. statesleadtheway.justsolutionscollective.org/wp-content/u...
Good advice when facing high electric bills: "Share that bill with your local and state elected officials and let them know how you feel about it. And also contact your [utility commission] because they're the ones who ultimately decide what your utility bill looks like." www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
October 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Good advice when facing high electric bills: "Share that bill with your local and state elected officials and let them know how you feel about it. And also contact your [utility commission] because they're the ones who ultimately decide what your utility bill looks like." www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
North Carolina regulators have approved Duke Energy's plan to build another gas-burning power plant on Hyco Lake despite local opposition and concerns the electricity produced will be used largely for data centers.
N.C. Regulators Approve Duke’s Second New Gas Plant on Hyco Lake, Despite Community Pushback
Raleigh, N.C. – The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved Duke Energy’s second new gas-burning power plant on Hyco Lake in Person County, despite pushback from Person County residents an...
www.sierraclub.org
October 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
North Carolina regulators have approved Duke Energy's plan to build another gas-burning power plant on Hyco Lake despite local opposition and concerns the electricity produced will be used largely for data centers.
Duke Energy's two North Carolina utilities filed notices this week with the state Utilities Commission announcing their plan to seek rate hikes. They expect to submit those rate case filings within 30 days.
October 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Duke Energy's two North Carolina utilities filed notices this week with the state Utilities Commission announcing their plan to seek rate hikes. They expect to submit those rate case filings within 30 days.
An eye-opening look at the international fight against massive data centers.
From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:14 PM
An eye-opening look at the international fight against massive data centers.
The grants through a program called Solar For All were meant to go to low-income families, and people in rural areas, to help them put solar panels on their homes.
NC sues Trump EPA over canceled solar grants for 12,000 families
The grants were intended to create jobs, lower energy bills and help the environment. The Trump administration said it was a waste of money.
www.wral.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:53 AM
The grants through a program called Solar For All were meant to go to low-income families, and people in rural areas, to help them put solar panels on their homes.
Eight US senators sent a letter to energy, water, and broadband companies -- including Duke Energy -- asking them to halt shutoffs and other penalties for federal workers affected by the ongoing government shutdown.
Hirono, Colleagues Urge Major Utility Companies Against Imposing Penalties, Service Shutoffs on Federal Workers Amid Shutdown | Mazie K. Hirono - A Voice for Hawai'i in the U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined eight of her Senate colleagues in...
www.hirono.senate.gov
October 14, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Eight US senators sent a letter to energy, water, and broadband companies -- including Duke Energy -- asking them to halt shutoffs and other penalties for federal workers affected by the ongoing government shutdown.
The N.C. Utilities Commission is holding a hearing today and tomorrow on new large-load customers, requested by the Southern Environmental Law Center to consider how the energy needs of data centers will affect the grid and customers' electric bills. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3gV...
E-100 Sub 208 Tech. Conf: Large Electric Load Additions - 10/14/2025
YouTube video by NC Utilities Commission
www.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM
The N.C. Utilities Commission is holding a hearing today and tomorrow on new large-load customers, requested by the Southern Environmental Law Center to consider how the energy needs of data centers will affect the grid and customers' electric bills. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3gV...