9/13 Letters: Customers shouldn’t have to pay for Duke Energy’s coal ash ‘carelessness’

Regarding “Coal ash could raise your power bill: Duke Energy wants double-digit rate hike” (Aug. 25): Duke Energy Carolinas is attempting to increase electricity rates by 16.7 percent for residential customers. The $311 million from this rate increase would not fund a new and better utilities infrastructure; instead, the money would reimburse Duke for its to-date efforts to clean up the poisonous coal ash that it carelessly dumped in North Carolina for years. The electricity rate base ought to cover the investments that Duke actually made for reliable power infrastructure, rather than the ones it should have made.

Given that Duke never invested in safe methods for coal ash disposal, it shouldn’t earn recovery on environmental compliance costs. It’s risky to participate in a capitalist market. Duke took a risk by dumping toxic waste irresponsibly, and that risk backfired. Customers should bear no part of the $2.5 billion that it will cost Duke to clean up coal ash over the next 40 years; rather, the company and its shareholders should accept cleanup costs as a consequence of their own negligent management.

I encourage all Duke customers to attend the rate hike hearing in Raleigh on Sept. 25, when the Utilities Commission will be accepting comments on the proposed increase.

Give Trump chance

Regarding “Making America greatly cruel” (Sep. 7): Despite Professor Gene Nichol’s disparaging remarks about President Trump, the only thing the president did with his DACA decision was to overturn an illegally enacted law and put the ball squarely in the laps of the only group allowed to create law – the House of Representatives. Under America’s form of government, Congress proposes law, the Senate finalizes law, and the president enacts law. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the president has the right to make a law simply because the other branches don’t do their jobs. In actuality, the proper solution to politicians who can’t or won’t do their job is to replace them by the ballet, not do it for them.

By the way, to all those who say President Trump wants to arrest and deport all those children, I ask: If that was true, why did he suspend the deportations? Why not start them immediately? It couldn’t be that he actually does care about them and simply wants Congress to save them legally, could it? Look, maybe, instead of crucifying the president and his actions, what everyone should be doing is pressuring representatives to quit posturing and join together and do their jobs. I’m sure Trump would love to sign into law a proper and legal DACA bill. Let’s get everyone together to send him one.

This story was originally published September 12, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "9/13 Letters: Customers shouldn’t have to pay for Duke Energy’s coal ash ‘carelessness’."