Why UFN?
The Problem
Electric utilities use their monopoly status in North Carolina to block competition, overcharge customers, and avoid accountability. Ratepayers are forced to fund electric monopoly lobbying efforts—often against their own interests—with no alternative energy provider to choose from.
Current state laws, like House Bill 951, guarantee such companies outsized control of new energy projects, stifling market growth and innovation. In fact, Duke Energy is mandated to own 100% of all new electricity generation except for solar, and it is mandated to own 55% of that. Meanwhile, these companies profit more when projects cost more—so they push for the most expensive options and pass the costs (plus a guaranteed 10% profit) onto you.
We’re not against any company’s existence—we’re for fairness. North Carolina needs more energy choices, more jobs, and smarter, more transparent energy investments that serve the public, not just a company’s bottom line.
Our Vision
We want legislators to refuse to take political contributions from electric monopolies so that we can envision and enact a fair and affordable energy system. We want to create a state legislature free from electric monopoly influence that enables politicians to pass legislation that truly protects their constituents, improves their lives and gives power to the people and not to corporate interests. We deserve a government that works for the people, not electric monopoly profits.
The Current Energy System
The monopoly energy system under Duke Energy, Dominion Energy, and Enbridge is not fair or affordable. Instead, it leads to
- unnecessarily high energy bills for ratepayers
- Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plans that do not meet mandated emissions reductions goals, both in 2022 and 2024
- a lack of accountability for polluting energy systems such as coal and gas plants
- a lack of competition and innovation in our energy system, especially regarding solar and storage
- incurred blackouts and lack of reliability in natural disasters (such as Hurricane Helene), reliability that local, distributed solar could provide
To make matters worse, electric monopolies control our legislators through enormous political spending so we cannot reform the energy system and achieve our vision. They are one of the largest political spenders in North Carolina and even charge their ratepayers for some political contributions. We are paying for them to lobby against us.
The System We Want
A Fair and Affordable Energy System
We conduct research and introduce legislation to make North Carolina’s energy system more efficient, affordable, and competitive.
After reviewing reforms from several states, we’ve identified two strong options for NC:
Energy Imbalance Market (EIM):
A low-cost, real-time energy trading system that boosts efficiency and builds on existing efforts like SEEM.Introduced as SB 716 = HB 745 in the 2025 legislative session.
All-Source Procurement:
Requires utilities to consider all energy sources—including renewables—encouraging competition and lowering costs without disrupting the current monopoly structure.- Introduced as SB 718 in the 2025 legislative session.
These reforms lay the foundation for a fairer, more modern energy market.
A Fair and Affordable Government System
We believe a fair and affordable energy system requires a fair and affordable government system to make it happen. Therefore, we also introduced The North Carolina Consumer Protection Act (SB 720 or HB 922) in the 2025 session to prohibit utilities from recovering costs of political activities from ratepayers.
North Carolinians should not be charged with funding Duke Energy’s political advocacy, especially when those activities raise their energy rates and harm the public interest.
No Toxic Money NC
The No Toxic Money stance is an important signifier to voters, to potential donors, to the media and the public that a politician is willing to stand with the people and reclaim our democracy from the undue influence of powerful electric monopolies, Duke Energy, Dominion Energy, and Enbrdige. We wish to build a bloc of independent legislators and make it politically taboo to be associated with utility monopolies.
Refusing utility monopoly contributions frees a politician to take bolder stances for an energy system that serves the people, unbound from ties to for-profit companies that do not have our futures at heart.