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Good evening,

I hope you are safe and warm. For those who experienced power outages this weekend, you might have found yourself worrying about electricity for the first time in a while. Outside of situations like this weekend, electricity is typically one of those things you don’t think about much; flip a switch, pay the bill, move on with life.

That era is ending.

Duke Energy recently asked ([link removed]) state regulators for electricity rate hikes of about 15% for customers across North Carolina. If approved, the average household will see monthly bills rise by $17 to $23. Duke says the increases are needed to improve grid reliability and support economic growth.

That explanation is only half the story.

The real reason rates are climbing was set in motion years ago, with a series of policy decisions that promised cheap, clean energy… and delivered neither. Chief among them is the state’s Carbon Plan, which pushed utilities toward heavy reliance on solar and battery storage while sidelining reliable, affordable power sources, like nuclear and natural gas.

This wasn’t an accident. Policymakers were warned.

Energy experts repeatedly showed that replacing dependable baseload power with intermittent sources like solar requires building far more capacity, far more transmission lines, and far more backup systems.

All of that costs money. Lots of it. And utilities are legally allowed to recover those costs from ratepayers.

Some politicians now claim surprise at rising bills. That’s hard to take seriously.

Governor Josh Stein has said we should be doing everything possible to make life more affordable. Unfortunately, his past actions tell a different story. As attorney general, his office pushed for more expensive energy portfolios and supported policies that shifted billions in cleanup costs onto ratepayers.

The good news is that lawmakers recently took a small step in the right direction by scaling back some Carbon Plan mandates. That may slow future increases, but it won’t undo the damage already done.

North Carolina doesn’t need wishful thinking when it comes to energy. It needs reliable power at the lowest possible cost. That means letting engineers, not activists, set energy policy, and treating affordability as a requirement, not an afterthought.

History teaches a simple lesson: when the government ignores basic economics, the bill always comes due.

You can read more about energy affordability in North Carolina here ([link removed]) , here ([link removed]) , and here ([link removed]) .

Esse quam videri,

Donald Bryson
CEO
John Locke Foundation

RSVP today for Carolina Liberty Conference!
We’re only about a month away from our biennial Carolina Liberty Conference! There is still time to snag your tickets and share in great company, like NC Chief Justice Paul Newby, NC Auditor Dave Boliek, NC Senate Majority Leader Michael Lee, and Lord Daniel Hannan.
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More from Locke

1) 🎒🎒🎒 Paving the way for microschools in North Carolina ([link removed])
* Sometimes, the biggest barrier to serving children is something as basic as zoning
+ Outdated zoning ordinances are a major obstacle for microschools, as they were often designed for traditional large-scale institutions and impose unnecessary costs and structural requirements.
+ Regulators need to understand that microschools differ significantly from traditional schools in size and structure, and should not be governed by the same restrictive rules.
+ Providing regulatory clarity ensures stability for families, including those using Opportunity Scholarships, who seek personalized learning environments for neurodivergent, gifted, or underserved students.
+ Microschool founders should also not have to navigate zoning town by town.
* North Carolina should pass statewide legislation that:
+ Clearly defines microschools and hybrid homeschools.
+ Creates consistent zoning and occupancy pathways.
+ Prevents the misapplication of traditional school rules to small learning environments.
+ Reduces barriers to educational innovation.

You can read the full article here ([link removed]) .

2) 🌬️🌬️🌬️ Offshore wind: known and speculative national security risks ([link removed])
* In December 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) paused leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction, including the massive Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, citing classified reports from the "Department of War."
+ A primary unclassified concern is "radar clutter." The massive height and movement of turbine blades interfere with radar systems, hindering air traffic control, maritime navigation, and search-and-rescue operations.
* Projects like the Kitty Hawk and Carolina Long Bay wind areas conflict with critical military missions.
+ The Pentagon noted these areas would disrupt fighter jet training, supersonic flight tactics, and low-altitude drills at essential ranges like the Dare County Bombing Range.
+ Speculative risks include the possibility that radar clutter could mask "swarm drone attacks" or provide cover for foreign drones to infiltrate U.S. airspace undetected.
+ Some analysts speculate that the physical presence of turbine monopiles could create sonar interference, potentially allowing autonomous enemy submarines or undersea drones to hide or launch attacks near major military targets like Naval Station Norfolk.
* Given that offshore wind is neither a reliable nor dispatchable energy source, the national security risks, both proven and speculative, far outweigh the benefits.

You can read the full article here ([link removed]) .

3) 🧑‍🌾🧑‍🌾🧑‍🌾 Possible tariff war over Greenland would hurt North Carolina farmers ([link removed])
* President Donald Trump had proposed increasing tariffs on eight European nations (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Finland) if a deal for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is not reached.
+ In response, the European Union considered roughly $108 billion in retaliatory tariffs on American products, and may restrict U.S. producers' access to European markets.
* North Carolina’s agricultural sector is highly dependent on exports, making it particularly vulnerable.
+ Significant portions of the state's cotton (86%), tobacco (67%), and sweet potatoes (~50%) are sold internationally.
o Europe is the top export destination for North Carolina sweet potatoes.
o The EU is the third-largest foreign market for North Carolina soybeans.
* A full-scale trade war with Europe could lead to the loss of tens of millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs within the state.
+ The economic damage would be most severe in rural North Carolina counties, where the agricultural industry is a primary economic driver, exacerbating existing financial struggles in those areas.

You can get the full picture here ([link removed]) .

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