Regulators Slam Duke’s Solar Funding Plan

North Carolina regulators gave a green light for Duke Energy’s Carolinas subsidiary to install 10 megawatts of photovoltaic systems at hundreds of commercial and industrial buildings, homes, and schools last week. But the energy company’s plan to recover costs for the $50 million project through rate hikes has come to a screeching halt — setting a precedent for utilities around the country.In a ruling issued Dec. 31, the North Carolina Utilities Commission wrote that Duke could purchase the same amount of solar power from third-party providers at significantly lower cost than if it owns the photovoltaic systems itself, and therefore it cannot reasonably recoup the entire cost of the project through rate “riders” allowed under the state’s Renewable Energy and Efficiency Portfolio Standard.

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