By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
ONE FEATHER STAFF
It’s been over a year since controversy flared up as area residents complained about Duke Energy’s construction of a new tie station near the Kituwah Mound. The group Citizens to Protect Kituwah Valley filed a complaint against Duke Energy in March 2010 with the State of North Carolina Utilities Commission.
The viewshed from Kituwah Mound, taken on June 9, 2010, three months after the Swain County Board of Commissioners passed a construction moratorium at the site. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather)
A year and numerous meetings later, the issue is still a hot one. The Utilities Commission issued a 13-page answer in which is set an evidentiary hearing in August to determine if Duke Energy acted in a “reasonable and appropriate manner” during the process of locating its new tie station.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 9:30am in the District Courtroom at the Swain County Courthouse in Bryson City.
Duke Energy officials decided in August 2010 to select a new site for the tie station and in November 2010 chose a site at the Swain County Industrial Park.
Last August, Brett Carter, Duke Energy Carolinas president, said in a statement, “Our customers expect and rely on Duke Energy to provide the electricity that powers their homes and businesses. Finding a new location for this important infrastructure allows us to deliver on our commitment to customers, without impacting the landscape around Kituwah.”
Read the full finding by the N.C. Utilities Commission:
