The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • A3

SATURDAY OCTOBER 2 2021 THE NEWS OBSERVER 3A Duke Energy, the dominant utility, a win it has long sought onmulti-year rate-making despite the concerns of many of the most prominent businesses and energy ad- vocates. Cooper and a bipartisan group of legislative leaders Duke Energy would be able to lock in rate in- creases over a three-year period under a compro- mise N.C. Senate Repub- licans and Gov. Roy Coop- er struck this week on a piece of controversial ener- gy legislation. The revised version of House Bill 951, which currently sits in Senate committee, would allow Duke to request as much as increases in each of the second and third years of a multi-year rate-making process.

Currently, rates are established one year at a time. The new version of the legislation, which was nego- tiated behind closed doors in recent weeks, would make the greenhouse gas reduction goals outlined in the Cooper Clean Energy Plan into law. In return, the bill would give released statements to- gether Friday afternoon touting the energy legisla- tion, a compromise that comes even as legislative leaders and office enter conversations over the state budget. bipartisan agree- ment sets a clean energy course for North Car- future that is bet- ter for the economy, bet- ter for the environment, and better for the pocket- books of everyday North Cooper said in a statement. The Clean Energy Plan established targets of reductions in power- sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

But earlier versions of House Bill 951 that focused primarily on which coal-fired power plants to close would have resulted in a reduc- tion, short of that goal. Under the revised legis- lation, regulators from the N.C. Utilities Commis- sion would guide how Duke reaches the green- house gas emissions tar- gets by developing carbon reduction plans every two years. The first version of the plan would be due by the end of 2022. The Utilities Commis- sion would need to ensure that any changes in energy sources would guarantee power reliability.

Addition- ally, the plan would need to include the cheapest energy sources that would achieve the mandated greenhouse gas reductions. Carolina is a growing state, attracting businesses and families from all over. That growth depends on a stable supply of reliable and affordable Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger said in a written statement, adding that the agreement signals a commitment to energy pol- The Utilities Commis- sion would be able to push the greenhouse gas targets back by as much as two years in most situations and further if the delays are due to permitting or grid modifications necessi- tated by the construction of a nuclear power plant or wind farm. The bill is expected to move through committees next week and receive a floor vote in the Senate on Thursday. Due to the changes, the House would also need to approve the revised legislation.

seen the lan- guage yet, but the dis- cussions that I have had, it looks like a lot of concerns that our caucus had have been addressed in this said Republican House Majority leader John Bell, of Goldsboro. Duke Energy has not yet responded to a request for comment on the compro- mise. all know this was about Duke wantingmulti- year ratemaking, and this is how they were going to get Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, told The compromise legisla- tion could pose problems for low-income customers, said Al Ripley, director of the N.C. Justice Consumer, Housing and Energy Project.

Those concerns largely revolve around the multi-year rate making process in which Duke can ask for increases of up to in each of the second and third years of a rate-making cycle. are very concerned that this bill will increase rates that low-income people cannot afford, and there is not an adequate program to help low-in- come people deal with these dynamics included in the Ripley said. A provision requiring the Utilities Commission to establish a programwhere Duke would help finance energy efficiency upgrades in return for a charge that is lower than the anticipated energy savings is not likely to benefit low-income peo- ple, Ripley said. Many low- income people either rent their homes and cannot make changes, Ripley add- ed, or would need tomake toomany repairs tomake energy efficiency financially feasible. House Bill 951 generated criticismwhen it was in- troduced earlier this year after a small group of stake- holders andHouse Repub- licans negotiated the legisla- tion behind closed doors.

In response to the initial bill, environmental groups raised concerns about legislative prescriptions for how Duke should replace the power generation from some coal-fired plants that will be retired by 2030. The original bill included the construction of natural gas-fired power plants, which release methane. Methane is a very strong, short-lasting greenhouse gas. Business groups also opposed the original legis- lation, with textile manu- facturers and some of the largest companies saying it would mean de- bilitating rate hikes and could cause some busi- nesses to leave the state. This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an inde- pendent journalism fellow- ship program.

The maintains full editorial control of the work. AdamWagner: 919-829-4669, AP Two bills under consideration in the N.C. House address the clean energy future. Supporters say House Bill 951 would transform the energy future. Opponents say it gives too few people a voice in what the grid would look like.

House Bill 611 calls for a study to reexamine how the wholesale electricity market is set up. NC Republican leaders, Cooper reach deal on energy bill BY LUCILLE SHERMAN AND ADAMWAGNER TRAVIS LONG Senate leader Phil Berger speaks as House Speaker Tim Moore and Gov. Roy Cooper look on during a briefing on North coronavirus pandemic response Monday, May 4, 2020, at the NC Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C. RALEIGH Five prisons with names tied to racism and white supremacy will get new names to them to 21st century cultural stan- the N.C. Depart- ment of Public Safety said Thursday.

The changes, which will take effect Oct. 4, came after DPS conducted an in-depth review of its names. They found five had racist or white supremacist ties, DPS said in a release. changes are being made to better re- flect the diversity of mod- ern-day said Todd Ishee, Commission- er of Prisons, in a state- ment. this day and age, it is unacceptable to main- tain facility names with negative historical conno- The facilities are: ACaledonia Correction- al Institution in Tillery, about 80 miles northeast of Raleigh; AMorrison Correctional Institution in Hoffman, 80 miles southwest of Ra- leigh; APolk Correctional Institution in Butner, just north of Raleigh in Gran- ville County; A Swannanoa Correc- tional Center for Women in Black Mountain, near Asheville; and A the DART Cherry residential treatment facil- ity in Goldsboro, about 50 miles southeast of Raleigh.

Caledonia will become Roanoke River Correction- al Institution. DPS says the name stems from the use as an antebellum plantation, where crops were grown and harvested with en- slaved labor. Since 1890, inmates have worked on the oper- ating prison farm and cannery. Swannanoa Correctional will be the Western Cor- rectional Center for Wo- men. The name was found to be tied to the construc- tion of the Swannanoa Tunnel in Asheville.

DPS researchers found that the construction possibly resulted in the deaths of numerous Black offender- laborers in the late 1800s. DPS says the Polk, Mor- rison and DART Cherry facilities were flagged when their research showed they were named after historical figures who practiced slavery and white supremacy. Polk Correctional will become Granville Correc- tional Institution. It was initially named for Wil- liam Polk, a Revolutionary War officer and slavehold- er. Morrison Correctional will become Richmond Correctional Institution.

It was named for former Gov. Cameron Morrison, who was a leader of the a violent, post-Civil War organiza- tion that promoted white supremacy. The DART Cherry facil- ity will now be known as the DART Center. It was named for former Gov. Gregg Cherry, who ad- vocated to drop civil rights from the Democratic party platform in the 1940s.

According to DPS, the staff at each facility shared their input for new names. was important to me that the staff have a say in the names of the places they work, and they pre- ferred names with local community Ishee said. strongly believe they should not have to work in facilities named to honor those who may have oppressed their The Department of Public Safety looked into the historical context for the names of 1,893 build- ings that are part of 240 complexes owned or oper- ated by DPS. As of Dec. 31, North total prison population was 30,058 people.

More than half, or are Black, followed by whites, Hispanics and Asians. The majority of inmates are male, while only are female. NC DPS joins several other entities reexamining their names because of connections to racism, including universities, schools, Army bases, shop- ping centers and neighborhoods. Five NC prisons to be renamed due to ties to racism BY LAURA BRACHE MORRISVILLE The town of Morrisville is about to get its first public transit system. The Morrisville Smart Shuttle will begin carrying residents around town on Saturday, Oct.

2. People can summon the on-de- mand service from their phone or computer and travel between one of 14 locations in town, includ- ing shopping centers, major subdivisions, Cedar Fork Community Center and the Morrisville Community Library. For those who want to go beyond town limits, four of the shuttle stops will coincide with GoCary bus stops, and the shuttle will also go to the Regional Transit Center off Slater Road where riders can connect with GoTriangle buses. The shuttles are free. They are being financed by the transit sales tax, which Wake County voters approved in 2016 along with a 10-year plan for increasing opportunities for people to get around without driving.

The plan included a program for parts of the county that did not al- ready have transit. Before tapping into that money, the town completed a transit study in 2019 to determine how to best serve its residents. The on-demand service seemed to make more sense than having buses follow scheduled routes, as in larger cities such as Raleigh and Durham. The Smart Shuttle is a 16-passenger bus with a bike rack on the front and a ramp and tie downs for wheel chairs. GoCary will operate the service, run- ning two shuttles at a time weekdays and one on weekends.

The shuttle will be available 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m.

to 7 p.m. on Sunday. For more information about the shuttle, includ- ing a map of stops and links to the apps for Apple and Android phones, go to www.townofmorrisville. Morrisville be the only area of Wake County to get an on-demand shut- tle this fall. Wake County plans to launch a micro- transit service in the rural northeast corner of the county, including the towns of Rolesville, Wen- dell and Zebulon and the space in between.

Residents of the area will be able to summon the GoWake SmartRide NE shuttle using the Uber app or by phone. A ride will cost $2. The start date has not been set yet. Richard Stradling: 919-829-4739, On-demand shuttle brings public transit to Morrisville BY RICHARD STRADLING CLAYTON Clayton police officers are looking for a relative they say shot a 68-year- old woman found dead in her home Thursday after- noon. Camille Nechelle Sin- gleton, 31, faces a murder charge in the death of Inita Gaither, the police department said on its Facebook page Friday morning.

body was found around 4:30 p.m. when officers went to her Crawford Parkway home on a welfare check, the post stated. She had been shot in the head with a handgun, according to a police in- cident report. Singleton was last known to be driving a white U-Haul pickup truck and may be traveling with her 2-year-old son, ac- cording to Clayton spokes- person Nathanael Shelton. The police department had previously identified child as her daughter, which is in- correct, Shelton said.

Singleton be considered armed and the post stated. The post did not state the relationship between Singleton and Gaither. Police ask anyone who may know where Single- ton is to call them at 919- 553-4611 or to call 911. Clayton police seeking suspect in killing of woman, 68 BY MARK SCHULTZ AND AVI BAJPAI newsobserver.com/ digitalaccess.