Dive Brief:
- A new advertising campaign slams Duke Energy for "devastating" communities with pollution and "suppressing clean energy expansion." The campaign calls on Duke to support customer choice in its service territories.
- The campaign launched a website, www.DirtyDuke.org, and produced a TV commercial that is airing in the Orlando and Tampa Bay markets.
- The campaign is supported by a number of organizations, many of which are Latino groups, including Presente.org, The Other 98%, the Sierra Club, 350.org, and the League of Conservation Voters. See the full list of supporters here.
Dive Insight:
Duke Energy's coal ash problems have been in the national spotlight since the Dan River spill in North Carolina. Perhaps more troubling, the utility's close relationship with Governor Pat McCrory, a former Duke employee, and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources are now the subject of a federal investigation.
While the "Dirty Duke" campaign plants the nation's largest electric utility in the crosshairs, Duke is far from the only utility under pressure. Arizona Public Service emerged from last year's rooftop solar dispute with a black eye, while similarly contentious battles are taking place in Colorado and South Carolina. A recent Utility Dive survey of over 500 utility execs showed that 54% of utilities are experiencing stakeholder pressure to provide cleaner and more sustainable energy.
But this is also not the first time Presente.org and The Other 98% have taken aim at a utility. During last year's net metering debate in California, the groups produced a TV commercial called "Edison Hates Rooftop Solar."
