Testimony before NC Utilities Commission
Published 9:44 am Wednesday, June 19, 2013
So next year I’ll make that proposal to Duke, but I wish you’d get back to the folks at Duke and let them know about this proposal. [I got a nod. We’ll see.]
“If Duke were to seek a rate increase to accomplish this, I might actually be willing for there to be a rate increase, but I oppose any rate hike that would mean I pay for nuclear power.
Also, I’m a grandmother, living on Social Security, and not a lot of Social Security because I never made a whole lot of money, and every time you raise the rates, there’s just some other things I’m not able to do.
I’m supporting two adults and four animals on my Social Security, and when it gets to the end of the month I’ve got maybe $20 or $30 left in my account. And so if you raise the rates 14 percent on me, there’s not going to be $20 or $30 left in my account, and I might not be able to get vaccinations for my animals or pay taxes on my house.
So that’s basically what I wanted to say, except that as a shareholder, I think it’s wrong to guarantee me 11.25 percent profit while taking more and more money away from the people who are paying the bills. And if you’re going to have a rate increase for the ratepayers, then I think the ratepayers should become shareholders of Duke Energy and get a share of the profits when you have them.”
– Ellen Thomas, Tryon