As the state weighs Duke Energy’s long-term plan to provide North Carolina power, one less commissioner will be able to weigh in.
The plan determines what kinds of power plants Duke Energy will build or retire and when.
The Utilities Commission has been listening to hearings on this plan since June 9, but Commissioner Donald van der Vaart has been absent for every hearing so far.
Groups, including the Environmental Defense Fund, argued he should not be able to rule on the case if he hasn’t attended the hearings.
The Utilities Commission ruled Wednesday van der Vaart must sit out of decision-making.
