Bad Creek a key to a new Duke energy plan

A new filing by Duke Energy with the South Carolina Public Service Commission contains a range of generation options to reflect what the utility calls an “all of the above” approach to power the needs of a growing region.  And the Duke Integrated Resource Plan includes doubling peak hour capacity of Oconee’s Bad Creek pumped storage facility near the North Carolina line.  “Over the next 15 years, electric use by Duke Energy customers in the Carolinas is projected to surge by around 35,000 gigawatt-hours – more than the annual electric generation of Delaware, Maine and New Hampshire combined,” said Mike Callahan, Duke’s South Carolina state president.  Duke considers Bad Creek a “marvel in the mountains” and says by expanding the facility there are to be “significant economic benefits of $7.3 billion to South Carolina, as the state benefits from construction and general infrastructure activity by 2033. “  The South Carolina filing begins a public regulatory process at the state PSC that involves the evaluation of thousands of pages and testimony and data from the company, other parties, and customers.  A hearing is to be held where the information is to be evaluated before the state regulators act, likely during mid-2024.