Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:

Question: Do you know if Buncombe County intends to repair Charles D. Owen Park in Swannanoa? It was all but destroyed in Helene, but it is home to many waterfowl and other animals, and a beloved park. Thanks on behalf of everyone who used that area!

My answer: I don’t know, but if mud wrestling ever comes back in vogue, we’ve got the perfect spot for it.

Real answer: I’ve had several readers ask me about this much beloved park, which got wiped out in Helene’s flooding. It knocked out the pond walls, causing all the water to eventually drain out.

At Wednesday’s weekly Tropical Storm Helene briefing, Buncombe County Parks & Recreation Director Allison Dains addressed Charles D. Owen Park and the rest of the county’s parks system.

“We know how deeply the destruction of Owen Park has impacted our community, and we want to reassure you that we are committed to re-imagining and reopening this space,” Dains said. “This will take time, and your input will be key to the process. We’ll be gathering community feedback to ensure that the new Owen Park reflects the needs of those who love and use it the most.”

This will take time, and Dains declined to offer any detail on a restoration timeline. 

“While it’ll take time to plan, design, fund and build, we are dedicated to bringing this park back better than before,” Dains said.

I asked Dains if she could at least give a rough estimate on how long restoration might take, and if any FEMA funding may come available.

“We don’t currently have a timeline,” Dains said, noting the immense amount of damage to the park. “But we’re committed to rebuilding that park, and we totally intend on a full community outreach and engagement in order to talk with the community and engage and see what kinds of new amenities they’d like to see built there. And during that process, we’ll be exploring every opportunity for funding in order to make that come to fruition.”

Dains reminded county residents that the parks that remain closed are shut down for good reason.

“You may see activity where debris removal is occurring, but please remember that just because debris has been cleared does not mean that the park is fully safe to enter,” Dains said. “There may still be other hazards, such as unstable ground and the parks or damaged infrastructure that prevent the park from reopening.”

Question: This could be a huge issue. We received our current bill from Duke, with a huge increase in the total bill. We called Duke and they said that a rate increase was approved by the legislature, partially or totally due to the Helene storm. Our bill had been $16.32 per month because we have solar panels. The current bill is $205.49.  The additions were $96.95 for an Energy Charge, $54.82 for another Energy Charge, $2.39 for Storm Recovery, $.35 for Storm Recovery, 11.84 for Summary of Rider Adjustments, $9.03 for Summary of Rider Adjustments (These were in addition to a continuing Rider Adjustment), and the Clean Energy Rider was increased from $.16 to $1.52. Other customers must be experiencing very large increases in their rates. The Duke person said that the increases varied by the location of the customer. Many will not be able to pay these high rates. Will you look into this very important local matter and let me and our community know what is going on?

My answer: Only if you offer more specifics next time.

Real answer: So first I want to note that this reader emailed me later to say, “I am so sorry that I troubled you with my apparent Duke problem. I just discovered that my solar panel system is not generating kilowatts. I will pursue this on my own.”

By that time, I had already sent the query off to Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton, and he provided answers. I’m running them because I’ve also seen several other complaints about high bills from Duke Energy customers on social media.

Recent Duke rates have actually come down, Norton said.

“Residential rates for Duke Energy Progress customers dropped 4.5 percent starting on Dec. 1, while rates for Duke Energy Carolinas customers dropped 6.2 percent starting on Jan. 1,” Norton said via email. “Both decreases were primarily driven by falling prices for the fuel needed to power Duke Energy’s generation fleet, including the Asheville Combined Cycle Station, which is much more efficient than the former coal plant it replaced in 2020.”

The plant now uses natural gas.

It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that every customer’s bill will decline, “because customers typically use more power during the peak of winter than in the preceding months,” Norton said. “But their bills are lower than they would have been without the rate drop.”

As we all know, hundreds of power crews from across North America flooded our area after the storm to help restore power, and that comes with an enormous cost. 

“Restoration costs for Duke Energy infrastructure damaged by Helene are estimated at $968 million,” Norton said.

We could see bills go up eventually to cover that cost.

“Hurricane Helene storm costs are not included in the current storm recovery rider, which covers historic storms that occurred in 2018-19,” Norton said, noting that “those storm bonds saved customers $300 million on their energy bills. If the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approves the use of storm bonds to pay for repairs to Duke Energy electricity infrastructure damaged by Helene, that would begin in late 2025 or early 2026 and likewise save customers significant money compared to traditional storm cost recovery.”

Regarding the high wintertime bills, Duke offers a bunch of tips for keeping costs down. One reminded me to change my furnace air filter, and I’m ashamed to say it looked like Chewbacca’s derriere. Gotta start swapping those out on a monthly basis.

Here are the tips:

• Reduce your thermostat to the lowest comfortable setting — the lower the temperature, the more you can save.
• Change your air filter and schedule regular maintenance for your heating systems to increase efficiency.
• Leave drapes or blinds open on the sunny side of the home to allow the sun’s rays to warm the house, but close them at night to help insulate your home.
• Operate ceiling fans in a clockwise direction in the winter to push warm air back down into the room.
• Seal cracks in windows, doors and vents with caulking and weatherstripping to save 10 percent to 20 percent in heating costs.
• Replace standard bulbs with LEDs, which are more efficient.
• Set your water heater to 120 degrees or less. Water heating is typically the second-biggest user of energy in your home.
• Buy your wife a nice wool shawl and super-thick socks and insist she wear them at all times. OK, I made this one up to see if you’re actually reading, but it works like a charm in my house.

Regarding those rider charges the reader mentioned, Norton noted that they’re “neither new nor unique to Duke Energy — they are a common practice for utilities.

“A rider is a charge, not included in standard base rates, that allows a utility to recover the costs of specific programs, credits and purchases,” Norton said. “In the interest of transparency, and following improvements to our billing system that allowed additional detail, we began showing them as individual line items starting Oct. 1, 2023, for all Duke Energy Progress customers, and Jan. 15, 2024, for all Duke Energy Carolinas customers.”

Riders often advance state policy goals, Norton said, mentioning the Renewable Energy Rider, designed to bring more solar energy to the grid. Another, the Storm Recovery Charge, is intended to recoup “extreme storm repair costs through bonds rather than including the repairs in base rates, saving customers millions.”

“Regarding solar, customers are paid based on rates approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission that ensure fair treatment for all customers whether they choose to install solar or not,” Norton said. “Earlier this year, we introduced a new program that encourages more rooftop solar paired with battery storage, which has been very well received. And just this month, we filed a proposal with the NCUC for a new voluntary solar program that would allow customers to receive the benefits of solar generation without incurring the expense to install and maintain a rooftop solar system.”

Shameless plug department: A friend in the local sports world sent me this question Thursday: “What is the ‘Stars Servin’ Up Love’ tennis event? Are there still tickets available?’”

Yes, it was a shameless ploy to drum up more interest in this event, and it worked, mainly because the event is a fundraiser for Tropical Storm Helene relief. Also, I’ve already bought tickets and plan to go, and I encourage you to consider it if you’re looking for a fun event on Sunday that also helps our community.

The event, which features exhibition tennis matches with stars Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro, starts at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. It also features an interesting mix of celebrities, including Michael Kosta, a host of “The Daily Show;” Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz; Jeff Probst, host of the CBS show “Survivor;” and Esai Morales of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.

The event’s website notes that “100 percent of net proceeds” goes to support the Always Asheville Fund, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and the Asheville Tennis Association. 

And yes, tickets do remain, and they start at $50. 

See you there! And, “Fore!” 

Oh, wrong sport…but still applicable to my tennis serve.

Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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