Senate Bill 261, known as the Energy Security and Affordability Act, passed its second and third readings in the Senate Thursday and will head to the House for further discussion.

Duke Energy would be allowed to charge North Carolina customers for power plants that haven’t yet been built, as well as to avoid fast-approaching climate change goals, under the terms of a new bill that passed the state Senate on 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,