Protesters urge regulators to block Duke Energy plan

RALEIGH -- A public protest kicked off a week of hearings today on Duke Energy's controversial energy efficiency proposal called Save-a-Watt.

The Charlotte-based utility describes Save-a-Watt as the nation's first energy efficiency plan that gives power companies a meaningful financial incentive to promote energy conservation.

The company requires approval from the N.C. Utilities Commission to offer the program to its customers in the state and charge extra to administer it.

Critics say Save-a-Watt is thin on efficiency and fat on corporate profits. Before the public hearings began in Raleigh this afternoon, about a dozen people staged a downtown rally featuring speakers from N.C. Public Interest Research Group, Clean Water for North Carolina and the N.C. Public Service Workers' Union.

In all, more than a dozen organizations -- church groups, consumer advocates, environmentalists, businesses and the city of Durham -- have come out against Save-a-Watt.

Duke Energy is "trying to take advantage of people's good will for energy efficiency," said Shana Becker, staff attorney for NC PIRG. "They're trying to make the most money that they can without effecting their business model, which is to try to generate energy."

Duke Energy, with 1.8 million customers in the state, has lined up a dozen experts and executives to defend Save-a-Watt. The star witness will be CEO James Rogers, an outspoken advocate for conservation, renewable resources and alternative energy. Rogers, scheduled to testify Aug. 18, refers to energy efficiency as a "fifth fuel" that will offset the need to build power plants by driving down power consumption.

Environmentalists say that Duke could cut customer electricity use by about 1 percent a year for two decades, resulting in a 20 percent reduction.

Duke proposes to install new technologies, such as remote-controlled thermostats, and offer discounts and rebates to customers who buy energy efficiency appliances and upgrades for the home and office. Customers would pay for the efficiency program through their monthly bills. Duke is seeking to recover its investment and overhead, recover its lost revenue from the energy savings, as well as a profit. The amount of the profit is the subject of contention.

The Public Staff, the state's consumer advocacy arm, says Duke is seeking a 61 percent margin on Save-a-Watt. Instead, the company should be allowed a margin of about 6.8 percent, the Public Staff recommends.

Duke officials say that efficiency must be linked to more generous financial rewards to motivate a corporation to choose conservation over building new power plants. Otherwise, efficiency will always remain the last option, not the first.

The Utilities Commission hearing this afternoon will run until about 5 p.m. in the Dobb Building, Commission Hearing Room 2115, at 430 N. Salisbury Street in Raleigh. The hearings will resume tomorrow at 9 a.m.

john.murawski@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8932