Chapel Hill apartments still have power, but clock is ticking after state order
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke Energy restored temporary power to P.E.A.C.H. Apartments on June 16, 2025.
- Meter dispute may delay tenant move-in and add $86,000 to project costs.
- State law permits single meters with solar if utilities are included in rent.
Update: The story was updated on Oct. 1, 2025, after the N.C. Utilities Commission issued its ruling.
The power is still on at an affordable apartment building in Chapel Hill — but only temporarily — after a state commission sided 4-1 with Duke Energy Carolinas in a dispute over the final connection.
It’s not clear when the permanent utilities will be hooked up, leaving the P.E.A.C.H. Apartments without tenants and EMPOWERment Inc., a local nonprofit housing provider, facing additional delays and expenses.
EMPOWERment Executive Director Delores Bailey was out of the office Wednesday and not available to comment on the Sept. 29 ruling or her organization’s next steps, a staff member said.
No tenants have moved into the apartments yet. Bailey previously said some were couch-surfing or on the verge of homelessness as they waited for the building’s completion. EMPOWERment initially planned the move-in for May 1, then pushed the deadline to Aug. 1.
EMPOWERment and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed the complaint with the N.C. Utilities Commission in June after Duke Energy refused to provide power to the 107 Johnson St. apartments.
EMPOWERment officials were concerned that a lack of ventilation and air-conditioning could give mold and mildew a foothold in the building, which was under construction, and without lights and activity, it would attract vagrants and criminals.
Rewiring the building could leave tenants waiting for several more months and add at least $86,000 to the project’s $3.5 million cost, the filing said. There are 20 families and individuals waiting to hear if they will get one of the 10 apartments, it said.
The utility sent workers to turn on the power temporarily on June 16 — 11 days after EMPOWERMENT’s complaint was filed.
“It is lovely to see the lights on at the apartment complex,” Bailey said a few days later, but “knowing that it’s temporary is not a good feeling.”
What does commission, state law say?
Duke Energy argued that state law required a meter for each of the 10 apartments.
EMPOWERment planned for one, connected to its planned rootop solar system. SELC senior attorney Nicholas Jimenez argued that state law allows master meters when a landlord includes utilities in the tenant’s rent.
EMPOWERment worked with the UNC student-run nonprofit SolarEquity on its plan, which estimated a single meter could increase the amount of solar power supporting the building by as much as 40%, according to the complaint.
“We weren’t doing this to set a precedent. We weren’t doing this to try to make a statement,” Bailey said. “We understood that if we went with a single master meter, when we put in the solar panels, it would cause greater efficiency.”
But four of the N.C. Utilities Commission’s members agreed with Duke Energy in the Sept. 29 order. Commissioner Floyd McKissick Jr. dissented, saying the law’s title is confusion, leading “an unsophisticated party” to conclude one meter can serve all of the apartments.
McKissick urged EMPOWERment to apply to the Commission separately for approval of its rooftop solar system, which is intended to reduce the building’s energy consumption and lower utility bills.
State law allows a single meter with Utilities Commission approval when it serves a central heating, air or hot water system, and uses solar to conserve more energy. Duke Energy’s attorneys argued the law is meant to encourage energy conservation, maintain “the direct utility-customer relationship,” and prevent one customer from paying the bill for another customer’s usage.
There is an exception for landlords who include utilities in the rent, but that refers to whose name is on the service, not to the number of meters that are required, Duke Energy’s response said. A change for EMPOWERment would change the rules for all landlords, it said.
“Although DEC believes EMPOWERment will treat its tenants fairly, not all landlords may have the same altruistic mission and allowing master metering in this case will establish a precedent that DEC will be required to apply uniformly going forward,” the filing says.
This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 8:49 AM.
