Kinnaird pushes bill to reduce energy use

N.C. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, wants the state to become more energy efficient. This year, she’s pushing to write that into law and create government incentives for reducing energy consumption.

Kinnaird’s bill, introduced in the state senate on March 17, is designed to reduce statewide energy consumption by 40 to 60 percent within 10 years.

If the bill becomes law, which Kinnaird says is unlikely in the Republican-controlled legislature, it would change the rates for electricity usage, making it cheaper for those who use less energy. Rates would be higher for those who consume large amounts of electricity.

“What we have to do is face the fact that energy use is more expensive every year,” Kinnaird said.

“If we have political will, we can do something about it in the most practical way possible, which is energy efficiency.”

The excess money from higher rates charged for high consumption would go toward a public benefit fund, which would lend money to make homes more energy efficient.

Projects like insulating homes, buying new appliances or installing solar panels would qualify for loans, said Avram Friedman, executive director of the Canary Coalition, an environmental organization that advocated for the bill.

Energy efficiency is greatly reduced when homes are not insulated or have old appliances — both more likely in low-income homes.

But if it becomes law, it will “avoid a negative economic impact on low-income families and rental units,” according to the text of the bill.

Energy companies will probably not support the bill, Kinnaird said. They will lose revenue from the reduced energy consumption and that could cause problems with passing the bill. She said she will most likely have to introduce the bill again in future sessions.

And the state would probably have to compensate companies for lost revenue, she said.

“If energy companies are losing money, they’re going to demand that they’re repaid for what they would have gotten,” she said.

But Friedman said downsizing the utility industry is a goal of the bill.

“Instead of having one big power plant broadcasting energy,” he said. “You decentralize the system. You lose less energy.”

Duke Energy, one of the biggest energy producers in the state, says it is committed to energy efficiency.

Its smart grid system, which is being tested in North and South Carolina, is designed to allow customers to cut energy use at peak times, such as hot summer days, when the company has to use its older coal-powered plants, said Paige Layne, spokeswoman for Duke Energy.

“It helps us to meet the need without using our older, not as clean energy plants,” she said.

Friedman said smart grid technology is important because it levels out demand during times of high energy consumption. But it does not reduce consumption overall, which is why this bill is necessary, he said.

“Right now the legislature is focused on budget matters and redistricting and it’s hard to get their attention on any other issue,” he said. “But if they hear enough public support, it could get passed.”

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