News

A bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly will raise energy costs for residential customers and promote fossil fuel industry expansion — which is why Gov. Josh Stein’s veto of the bill must be upheld, according to Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop.

Senate Bill 266 was passed by the N.C. House in June and vetoed by the governor on July 2. Now, there’s a chance the veto could be overridden because several Democrats previously voted to pass the measure.

“The key takeaway here is this bill in the context of climate chaos,” Samantha said. “We just had a tropical storm that wasn’t even a tropical storm by the time it got to us, but still caused historic flooding—and we have giant industries pushing for this massive buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure.”

Samantha pointed to the recent construction of Dominion Energy’s Moriah Energy Center and the expansion of fossil fuel industry in Person County as part of the problem — not only is such expansion impacting waterways, but the industry as a whole is contributing to a much larger issue: accelerated global warming and climate change.

“This bill just locks us into a future of fossil fuels facilities that we’re not choosing, but that are going to make all the challenges we’re dealing with that much worse, climate-wise,” she said.

The bill allows utilities in North Carolina to charge customers up front for funding methane gas and nuclear plants that have yet to be built.

“It’s making everyday, residential customers pay the bill; it’s making taxpayers pay for fossil fuel expansion,” Samantha said. “In Person County, this industry is booming, and they’re trying to make us pay for it.”

Samantha encouraged people whose state representatives voted for Senate Bill 266 to reach out to their legislators and encourage them to uphold the veto. These include Bryan Cohn, Mike Colvin, Carla Cunningham, Frances Jackson, Ray Jeffers, Nasif Majeed, Garland Pierce, Dante Pittman, James Roberson, Charles Smith, Shelly Willingham, and the following senators: Dan Blue; Paul Lowe and Joyce Waddell. 

Not sure which legislators represent you? You can find them here!