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At Jones-Onslow EMC, our mission is to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity to the members we serve. When proposed laws or regulations could significantly affect your electric bill, we believe it’s important to keep you informed and give you the opportunity to make your voice heard.
Today, we’re asking for your help.
Nearly 20 years ago, North Carolina adopted a renewable energy law that required utilities to purchase a certain amount of electricity generated from swine waste. At the time, the goal was to encourage innovation and support the development of new technology that could benefit both agriculture and the environment.
While that technology has advanced over the years, it has not developed as quickly—or become as affordable—as lawmakers originally anticipated. The systems needed to produce electricity from swine waste remain costly to build and operate, making them impractical for many farmers and limiting the number of projects available.
Because of this requirement, electric cooperative members across North Carolina could face hundreds of millions of dollars in additional electricity costs over the next 15 years unless the law is updated.
For a member-owned cooperative like Jones-Onslow EMC, every dollar spent on power ultimately affects the cost of providing electricity to our members. At a time when families, retirees, farmers, and businesses are already managing rising expenses, we believe it’s important to pursue energy policies that balance innovation with affordability.
This issue is not about opposing renewable energy, and it is not about opposing agriculture.
Jones-Onslow EMC supports a diverse energy portfolio that includes renewable resources when they are reliable, practical, and cost-effective. We also recognize the vital role North Carolina’s farmers play in our local economy and rural communities.
The question is whether cooperative members should continue paying for a mandate based on technology that has not become commercially viable at the scale originally envisioned.
If affordable electricity is important to you and your family, we encourage you to contact your North Carolina House and Senate members and ask them to support updating the state’s renewable energy law by removing the outdated swine waste energy requirement while continuing to promote energy solutions that are reliable, responsible, and affordable.
When cooperative members speak up, elected officials hear directly from the people they represent. Your voice can help shape policies that protect the affordability and reliability of electricity for communities across North Carolina.
Thank you for being an engaged member of Jones-Onslow EMC and for helping us advocate for energy policies that serve the best interests of the people who own this cooperative.
