David Boraks

Two environmental groups are asking state regulators to limit lobbying and other expenses by electric utilities, which the groups call "influence money."

President Trump may have pulled the United States out of the 2017 Paris climate agreement, but its goals are alive in North Carolina. State and local governments are adopting their own measures to fight climate change.

For years, utilities have been testing large-scale batteries to store electricity, especially from wind and solar power. Now Duke Energy is ready to bet on the technology, with plans to spend a half-billion dollars on batteries over the next 15 years in the Carolinas.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order to fight climate change that sets new goals for reducing the use of fossil fuels and promoting environmentally friendly policies in state government Monday.

Just two weeks after Duke Energy began taking applications for new solar energy rebates, the program has run out of money for homeowners and businesses for this year. 

Duke Energy will begin offering solar rebates Monday in North Carolina. Solar energy advocates say it could help speed installations of rooftop solar panels.

Muslims and immigrant advocates in North Carolina reacted with dismay Tuesday to news that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld President Trump's executive order limiting travel from a group of primarily Muslim-majority countries.

Duke Energy says state regulators' Friday order denying its request for a rate hike in its western North Carolina territory could still mean a small rate increase for customers. 

At least five children who were separated from their parents at the U.S. southern border have been placed in foster care in South Carolina. In North Carolina, officials who resettle immigrants say they're not aware of any children currently being housed in the state after being separated from their families at the border. But they say the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy is affecting immigrants already here.

State regulators have rejected Duke Energy's request for a rate increase and instead ordered slight rate reductions in its western North Carolina territory, including Charlotte. The order doesn't say exactly what Duke's new rates will be, and it's still possible some customers could see slight rate increases.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says a proposed settlement that would allow Duke Energy to begin charging customers for electric grid improvements is unfair to ratepayers. That's in a filing with utilities regulators Friday in response to Duke's proposed agreement with a group of environmental and business groups.  

A bill filed by Republican legislative leaders last week would let voters decide whether to add a constitutional amendment to require photo IDs at the polls. A federal court shot down a previous attempt at Voter ID laws in North Carolina. If the question gets on the ballot this fall and passes, would it stand up to a legal challenge?

The state's utility consumer advocate and other groups are opposing Duke Energy's agreement earlier this month to limit a planned $7.8 billion electric grid modernization program.  The North Carolina Utilities Commission Public Staff, the environmental group NC WARN, and the Carolina Utility Customers Association say the program would result in unacceptably higher rates.

Duke Energy has reached a deal with environmental and business groups that could limit how long it can charge customers for improvements to the energy grid in western North Carolina.  The partial settlement comes as Duke awaits a decision from regulators on a proposed 10 percent rate increase.

Duke Energy officials defended last year's big pay package for CEO Lynn Good during the company's online-only annual meeting Thursday afternoon.  Good got $21.4 million dollars in salary, bonuses, stock and other compensation - nearly double her pay two years before.

Duke Energy says it expanded renewable energy generation by about 19 percent in 2017. That's according to the company's annual sustainability report out Monday morning.

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday on whether it's legal for anyone other than a public utility to sell electricity in North Carolina.

Duke Energy customers in North Carolina will be able to get rebates of up to $6,000 each beginning this summer for installing solar panels on their homes.  The four-year, $62 million rebate program was approved by state regulators last week. It's required under a 2017 state law designed to keep solar power growing in North Carolina.

State environmental regulators are gathering comments on a proposed air quality permit that would let Duke Energy reprocess and recycle coal ash stored at the Buck plant in Salisbury, North Carolina. The 30-day public comment period wraps up with a public hearing Tuesday night.  

Duke Energy last week began generating electricity in eastern North Carolina with natural gas from a new source: hog waste. It helps Duke meet a state mandate, while benefiting farmers, too.

Duke Energy says it could completely phase out coal-fired power plants by 2050. By then, the utility expects to be generating electricity through a mix of other sources, including nuclear and gas-fired plants, and wind and solar farms.  That possible scenario came in a special Climate Report to Shareholders published Thursday.

Updated at 7:30 p.m. ET

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and the state Republican party paid a controversial political consulting firm $345,000 to help target voters three years ago. Now Democrats are raising questions, after news this week that the firm, Cambridge Analytica, improperly obtained Facebook data on 50 million Americans and also had dealings with Russian interests.

New data from federally mandated testing has found elevated levels of radiation in groundwater at 11 of 18 Duke Energy coal plants. Environmentalists and Duke disagree over what the numbers mean.

Duke Energy and the state utility customer advocate have reached a partial settlement that would trim the size of the company's pending rate hike request for western North Carolina, including Charlotte.

Duke Energy says the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline is on track to open in late 2019, even though it's still awaiting final state and federal approvals. But CEO Lynn Good said delays and more stringent conditions from regulators have pushed the project's price tag up - to between $6 billion and $6.5 billion.

Duke Energy is reporting a profit of $703 million in the last three months of 2017. The company says cold weather boosted energy use, expenses were lower and it benefited from changes in the federal tax law.

Duke Energy has settled a class-action lawsuit filed by homeowners who live near the company’s coal ash sites, and the suit has been dismissed. 

Thanks to unusually low temperatures, January is turning out to be a record month for electricity use in North Carolina.  It also could mean higher bills for customers, according to Duke Energy. 

Updated 6:35 p.m.

North Carolina environmental regulators have issued a key water permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. It's one of the last permits needed before construction begins in the state.

Duke Energy has proposed a new solar rebate program for homeowners and small businesses in North Carolina - something required as part of the state's new renewable energy law that took effect Jan. 1.