Critics say it could do the exact opposite, potentially leaving North Carolinians paying billions of dollars for power plants that never actually get built. But those critics were out-voted Thursday.

Duke Energy would shed its goal of a 70% carbon reduction by 2030 under a new bill filed in the North Carolina General Assembly by powerful state Senate leader Phil Berger. Why it matters: The proposal would roll back a portion of a major 2021 bill,

State Sen. Paul Newton introduced Senate Bill 261 on Tuesday with the gusto of a car salesman: “I’m here to offer you an opportunity to save North Carolina billions of dollars,” the Cabarrus County Republican said as he convened a meeting of the Senate Agriculture,