April 24, 2013 (North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association)
“In a dramatic turn of events that electrified the room, the North Carolina General Assembly’s Public Utilities and Energy Committee…voted down its Chairman’s own bill, House Bill 298, by a very solid bipartisan vote of 18 to 13. Six Republican members, including three from GOP leadership, joined with others from across the aisle to deliver a resounding defeat to the measure, commonly known as the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) repeal bill… “The vote’s outcome and the fact that it occurred in the Committee chaired by the bill’s own sponsor, Chairman Mike Hager, not only helps to secure a path forward for continued economic development in the renewable energy sector, it also showed the strength of the voices from across the state that spoke out against the misguided effort to have North Carolina turn away from a promising clean energy future…”
click to enlarge“The bill’s failure to make it out of Committee seemed to signal the state’s increasing recognition of the economic virtues behind its current suite of clean energy policies. The lopsided vote which enjoyed a closing of ranks from Democrats and senior Republicans alike set clean energy forward as among an elite group of issues…with true bipartisan appeal and wide popularity among the public… “With REPS as a pivotal battleground, clean energy gained further ground…over detractors looking to push a regressive agenda that would have…left ratepayers at the mercy of an electricity market without true choice or competition…The longer the bill was examined and the more time that members had to hear from their constituents and local businesses, the worse it fared…”
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