Surprising force behind plan to kill State Energy Office

Reporter Laura Leslie had a terrific report on WUNC radio this morning about a plan afoot among North Carolina lawmakers to gut the State Energy Office. One particularly shocking fact about the plan -- besides the inherent strangeness of eliminating the award-winning (.doc) office at the very time its work is more critical than ever -- is that it's being championed by state Sen. Janet Cowell, a Raleigh Democrat who has previously been a staunch environmental advocate.

Cowell said she wants to eliminate the office because it hasn't established "strong linkages" with other state agencies. However, Director Larry Shirley disputed that charge and said he still hasn't been offered a "cogent" explanation for the move. Neither has state Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat and one of the legislature's strongest environmental champions. In fact, Harrison thinks the SEO's funding should actually be increased.

Hearing Leslie's report, I couldn't help but recall that Cowell recently announced she was running for state treasurer. Could her uncharacteristic willingness to promote a plan that primarily benefits the utilities -- who under the current rate structure stand to make less money if the state successfully promotes efficiency -- be related to the fact that they're important sources of campaign cash (.pdf)?

Let's hope not. But let's also press for public financing of campaigns to put an end to this kind of suspicion.