7 counties top NC ‘energy poverty’ list

Six eastern North Carolina counties, plus one county in the Triangle area, received the highest “energy poverty” scores in a new report. Those counties are Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover, Orange, Pitt, and Robeson.

Energy Poverty in North Carolina, the latest research report published by the John Locke Foundation, is a county-by-county energy poverty index that uses the residual income approach to measure the difference between what households considered to be in poverty are paying for energy and the 6.5% acceptable affordability limit. Expenditure on energy per household above the 6.5% limit is considered energy poverty, and the extent of this excess is the energy poverty gap. 

“For the past few years, governors and policymakers have been altering and reshaping electricity policy in this state as if our low rates were simply a birthright,” Jon Sanders, director of the Center for Food, Power, and Life at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “While they have been off pursuing climate merit badges, we have been warning for years about the inevitable consequences of setting aside the state’s longtime protection in law of affordable rates and reliable service. Fortunately, politicians are finally waking up to the reality that people dislike paying too much for an indispensable household need like electricity. Our Energy Poverty Index comes at this critical juncture. It not only reminds us what’s at stake, but it also lays out several policies to help undo costly policies of the past and return to the goal of securing affordable, reliable electricity for all North Carolinians.”

The report ranks counties in two ways for household energy poverty, according to the John Locke Foundation. One ranking is for households served by the state’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs): Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, and Dominion Energy. These three IOUs account for about two-thirds of household electricity sales in North Carolina. 

Households not served by IOUs are served by one of 76 municipal utilities or 32 electric membership corporations (EMCs), which is the second method by which the report ranks the counties. The report also assigns four levels of severity ranges to energy poverty, with Level 1 being the most severe and Level 4 being the least severe. 

“The lowest level, Level 4, is for counties with the lowest levels of energy poverty — from 0 up to 3 percentage points above the affordability threshold,” reads the report. “The next level up (Level 3) is for counties at 3 to up to 5 percentage points above the affordability threshold. Counties with energy poverty levels ranging from 5 to up to 6.5 percentage points are placed in Level 2. Counties at 6.5 percentage points or more above the affordability threshold (i.e., at least double the threshold) are placed in Level 1, the most severe level of energy poverty.”

According to the report, Pitt County ranks No. 1 on the Energy Poverty Index as the most expensive for households served by IOUs. The average annual cost of electricity in Pitt County is $1,608, or 13.8% of annual income. Pitt County is a Level 1 county for energy poverty and ranks 34th in economic distress. 

“Seven counties were at Level 1, with energy poverty gaps at least double the affordability threshold: Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover, Orange, Pitt, and Robeson,” reads the report. 

For households served by municipal utilities or EMCs, Orange County ranks No. 1, with an average annual electricity cost per household of $1,828, or 16.7% of income. Orange County ranks 92nd for economic distress in this ranking, according to the report. Based on this ranking, 27 counties had Level 1 poverty gaps at a minimum of double the affordability rate. 

Finally, the report discusses policies and outcomes affecting the affordability and reliability of electricity provision, which directly impacts rates and makes policy recommendations to keep power bills as affordable as possible. 

Policy recommendations outlined in the report that would keep power bills affordable include repealing the carbon plan law, passing legislation that would prohibit baseload power plants from closing until an equal or greater baseload capacity has replaced them, and requiring the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) to compare power sources’ full costs including the backup cost of alternative sources such as solar, before approving new generation projects, to ensure fair comparisons and most affordable resources. 

Additional policy recommendations include repealing the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards (CEPS) and passing legislation (Only Pay For What You Get Act) that would place limitations on how much utilities can pass on to customers for new power plants based on how reliably those plants produce electricity, to encourage more dependable, cost-effective investments while shifting more financial risk to utility shareholders. The final recommendation is to pass legislation on consumer-regulated electricity, which would allow data centers to generate or purchase their own electricity, helping them meet their high energy demands without driving up household power bills.

“7 counties top NC ‘energy poverty’ list” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.