From ClimateWire:
Duke Energy, the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the U.S. utility sector, has spent more than $10 million to lobby Congress since 2008, helping to shape, it says, legislation to cap carbon emissions… [Waxman-Markey] gave Duke most of the credits it would need for the next 15 to 20 years for free.
“That was a major achievement,” said Duke spokesman Tom Williams. “I would say that was a major example of our [lobbying] presence paying off for our customers.”
Maybe Duke meant “paying off from our customers,” since Duke Energy has already applied to increase electricity rates 12.6% ($500 million) in anticipation of carbon cap legislation.
More from the ClimateWire article:
Duke CEO Jim Rogers has “played the political winds like a master yachtsman,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, adding that the firm touts carbon controls while also expanding a coal-fired plant west of Charlotte, N.C.
“Master yachtsman”? Below is a more apt image of Duke’s “Skipper”:
In reality, Rogers has done nothing but betray his shareholders and customers:
