Raleigh, N.C. —North Carolina’s electric cooperatives are studying the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan released today to determine its impact on cooperative member-consumers.
The EPA released the final version of the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions nationwide and will transform the way energy is generated across the country. Each state is given a specific benchmark and is tasked with developing a plan to reduce carbon emissions to meet this goal.
“This plan may bring significant changes to the industry, and we are reviewing the regulation to determine how it will impact cooperative members in North Carolina,” said Joe Brannan, chief executive officer of North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, the power supplier for most of the state’s electric cooperatives. “As not-for-profit utilities, our goals are to provide electricity at the lowest possible cost and to keep our members’ interests first.”
North Carolina’s electric cooperatives have a diverse portfolio of power resources. More than half of the cooperatives’ power portfolio comes from emissions-free nuclear energy, with the remainder coming from natural gas, market purchases and renewables. This investment in a diverse portfolio will help mitigate the potential for extreme increases to electric cooperative members and ensure the cooperatives can continue to provide affordable, reliable, environmentally responsible power.
“We believe it is possible to find solutions that balance the environment and the economy, and we will work with elected officials and regulators to represent the voices of our 2.5 million members across the state,” Brannan said. “We hope that the EPA has already incorporated many of the concerns expressed by our members.”
North Carolina’s electric cooperatives serve more than 2.5 million people in 93 of the state’s 100 counties.