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Outside the Durham County courthouse on Wednesday evening, a large crowd of onlookers watched in terror as a pair of evildoers stomped around, cackling as they did the one thing all great villains can’t resist: boast about their evil plan.
“I like to keep an eye on all my workers so no one gets a break,” said drag performer Jeff Bozos, imitating the Amazon founder of a similar name. Their partner-in-crime and fellow performer, Pay My Bills Gates, shuddered with joy.
“I love surveillance too, Bozos,” Pay My Bills Gates said. “I just love collecting tons of data for the U.S. government on all of you, and then we share it with ICE, and they use it to deport people.”
The assembled crowd was saved just in the nick of time by drag queen heroine Naomi Dix, who elegantly dispatched of the dastardly duo to rousing applause from the audience.
The performers and onlookers—who traveled from around the state—were gathered at the courthouse to protest proposed rate increases by Duke Energy and the rise of high-energy-consuming data centers used by tech behemoths like those portrayed in the skit. After the villains were quelled, the crowd went inside to give testimony against the proposed rate increases at a public hearing held by the North Carolina Utilities Commission
“This is what community looks like when we come together here in the Bull City,” Dix said. “Your responsibility is not just showing up. Your responsibility is allowing your voice, the voice of those who do not have the strength to tell their stories, to be heard.”
Last November, Duke Energy Carolinas LLC, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, filed an application to adjust rates with the North Carolina Utilities Commission. The Utilities Commission, which has authority over those prices, has been holding public hearings around the state on the proposed increase, with the final one held in Durham on Wednesday.
Duke Energy is proposing a residential rate increase of 16% for Duke Energy Carolinas customers and 18% for Duke Energy Progress customers. Ultimately, the Utilities Commission—taking into account public comments, expert testimony, and the company’s financial records—makes the decision. Attorney General Jeff Jackson said the energy company “overshot the mark” on its proposal.
The company says the increases are necessary to modernize and improve the resiliency of the grid, expand and diversify its power generation (including traditional and renewable sources), and cover the compliance costs associated with closing coal ash basins.
But the group—which included environmentalists, union workers, and local elected officials—gathered outside the…
