According to this Triangle Business Journal article, Wal-Mart wants be exempted from having to pay the costs for energy efficiency measures that are being imposed by Progress Energy:
“The nation?s largest retailer says the charge violates a provision in
state law that specifically allows commercial and industrial customers
to opt out of paying for such programs if the companies undertake their
own energy-efficiency efforts.”
The law that Wal-Mart is pointing to is SB 3 (see 62-133.8(f)). You can read their motion before the Utilities Commission here. In simple terms, industrial and some commercial customers (those with high electricity usage) can be exempted if they have or will develop their own energy efficiency measures.
The real question is why should industrial and some commercial customers be exempted but not small businesses and residential customers? BTW: The answer is easy–because there was nobody representing the interests of residential and small business owners during the formulation of SB 3.
It also didn’t help that the Public Staff, which is supposed to represent electricity customers, was (and still is) fighting to increase the cost of electricity through these energy efficiency programs.
