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

Question: This summer so far has been dancing between toasty and muggy, with a whole bunch of 90-degree days. To the best of my recollection, in the first 25 years of this century there have been six years where there were either no 90-degree days or just one. Temperature-wise and storm-wise, it is pretty clear the climate is responding to global warming. I know that Duke Energy built the two new gas generators and that they are working on a fairly large solar field on the old landfill on their Lake Julian site. What’s their power generation been like so far this summer? What has been their peak energy day? How close on any day have they got to maxing out on the available energy? How many days have used the program where homeowners allow their air conditioning units and water heaters to be turned off for a short period of time?

My answer: I can vouch for all those 90-degree days, as I’ve been dancing in the humidity, sweating in places I didn’t even know I had glands. To reiterate a phrase my wife just loves, I’ve been making my own gravy all summer long! Also, to quote my wife, “Ewwwww!”

Real answer: First, it has been hot this summer, and unusually humid. Asheville has recorded 13 days of 90 degrees or hotter this summer so far, according to extremeweatherwatch.com.

Here’s their list of the last 10 years of days with 90-degree-plus temperature recordings:

• 2025 — 13
• 2024 — 14
• 2023 — 12
• 2022 — 9
• 2021 — 4
• 2020 — 13
• 2019 — 21
• 2018 — 3
• 2017 — 5
• 2016 — 20
• 2015 — 12 

According to a Washington Post article about excessive humidity in the U.S. this summer, North Carolina is one of 18 states that have set a record for humidity levels. All that heat and humidity translates into high demand for electricity, but Duke has not exceeded its limits. 

Duke Energy spokesperson Ben Williamson hit the reader’s questions point by point.

Power generation so far this summer: “Since June 1, our 560-megawatt Asheville plant has operated every day and produced more than 544,000 megawatt-hours to serve our customers across the Carolinas,” Williamson said via email. “The plant is 75 percent more efficient and has far lower emissions than the coal plant it replaced in 2020.”

Regarding solar power, Williamson said it is an “important resource in Duke Energy’s portfolio.”

“For example, the Woodfin Solar facility is a 5-megawatt facility, and we are developing a 9.5-megawatt solar site adjacent to the current natural gas plant,” Williamson said. “Duke Energy is also developing a 17-megawatt battery energy storage system that will sit at the site as well. Both the solar site and battery are planned to be complete by the end of 2026.”

What was the peak energy day?: “Duke Energy achieved a new summer peak usage record in the Carolinas of 35,269 megawatt-hours of electricity set on June 24, 2025 — exceeding the previous summertime record of 34,439 megawatt-hours, set on July 9, 2024,” Williamson said. “For perspective, Duke Energy’s combined Carolinas utility all-time record peak is 37,260 megawatt-hours, set earlier this year on Jan. 23, 2025.”

Here in Asheville, our power is generated at the Lake Julian facility, which is tied into Duke’s larger grid.

“Asheville’s combined cycle natural gas plant played a critical role in reliably serving our customers throughout those peaks,” Williamson said. “The highest daily generation produced by the Asheville station was on June 13, 2025, with an output of 15,276 megawatt hours.

How close has Duke come maxing out available energy? “It’s important to note that Duke Energy customers benefit from our dual-state system’s diverse mix of resources — the Asheville region is not powered by one site but all of our generation facilities across the Carolinas,” Williamson said.

He mentioned the Bad Creek and Jocassee pumped storage hydro stations, and the Oconee Nuclear Plant, are in South Carolina, not far across the state line from western North Carolina. They provide “clean, reliable power with no greenhouse gas emissions,” Williamson said.

Nuclear energy production comes with a raft of environmental issues, including the production of the fuel and the storage of spent fuel. Williamson pointed out that nuclear power “provides half of the power used by Duke Energy customers in the Carolinas.”

“Supporting the ongoing growth that North Carolina and South Carolina are enjoying requires a diverse mix of new resources including renewables, energy storage, natural gas, and carbon-free nuclear,” Williamson said. “It’s not either-or — we need all of the above.”

Customer turn-off days? Regarding how many days Duke has used the program where homeowners allow their air conditioning units and water heaters to be turned off for a short period, Williams said Duke “has called four demand response events related to temperatures for all customers in the Asheville area who voluntarily participate in the Energy Wise Home program, which rewards customers for conserving energy during times of high demand.”

“We have also run a few shorter demand response test events unrelated to weather for much smaller groups of customers,” Williamson said.

Question: I’ve noticed several of the new waste disposal company’s trucks — maybe all of them; I don’t know, ‘cause I haven’t seen the entire fleet — have Florida license plates. I’m assuming that that is where the company, FCC Environmental Services, is based out of. But does that also mean that they aren’t registered here and aren’t paying taxes associated with being registered here? If not that’s pretty crappy considering how cumbersome and heavy and damaging to the infrastructure those trucks can be over time. Have you noticed this, or could you do your research magic and find out?

My answer: Firing up the magic email wand now. Shh … don’t let my secret out.

Real answer: FCC Environmental took over Buncombe County’s garbage hauling contract in January, although it started swapping out bins in December. So the company has been here for eight months, at least.

Charles Merkley, vice president of business development at FCC, had an explanation for the delay in switching plates.

“Most equipment is purchased through a dealer that prepares them, tags them, and ships them,” Merkley said via email. “We transfer to the county they work (in) through our fleet team.”

The regional fleet manager works on this issue once the vehicles are assigned.

“It takes a minute to exchange,” Merkley said.

I stopped by FCC Environmental’s Sweeten Creek Road office Thursday afternoon, and General Manager Lewis Knight told me all but two of the garbage trucks now have North Carolina tags. 

“We’ve got 40 pieces of equipment that we operate, but on routes every day we only run 23 pieces of equipment,” Knight said.

The takeaway is that FCC will get all these vehicles registered and plated in North Carolina.

Back in May, I wrote about lingering complaints about FCC’s service record and missed pickups, and Buncombe County’s pressure for that to improve. Knight said Thursday they have improved their collection completion rate to 99 percent-plus.

Question: In working with a homeless person on transportation I learned that Greyhound’s single Asheville stop was at the Shell station on Swannanoa River Road across from the Muni golf course. The station has been closed since Helene with no signs of repairs starting. Nearest stops per Greyhound’s website are Forest City and Greenville, but they don’t list the Asheville Shell location as closed. This is a crucial service for intra-city transportation for those without means. What is the status of a Greyhound stop returning to Asheville and their website being updated? Couldn’t they easily make arrangements at another location close to I-40?

My answer: I, ahem, hounded Greyhound about this for a few weeks, but they declined to give an official response until they issued a news release. I guess the hound-to-hound connection I was banking on did not work in this instance.

Real answer: Greyhound announced this week it is resuming its Asheville service as of today. The bus line will pick up and drop off passengers on Asheland Avenue outside of the downtown Asheville Rides Transit transit station.

“Intercity bus travel is a lifeline for so many people in this region — providing an affordable way to visit family and access jobs and healthcare across North Carolina and beyond,” said Greyhound chief operating officer Rodney Surber.

“This arrangement is the result of months of close collaboration with NCDOT and the City of Asheville,” the release states. “Travelers will have access to daily, direct service to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh, NC; Richmond, VA; and other destinations.”

The release notes Greyhound suspended service in Asheville in September after Helene caused widespread destruction across western North Carolina, including to the company’s local infrastructure, and made many roads impassable.

Tickets are available now and can be purchased on the Greyhound website or mobile app.

Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our Facebook page. Please submit your comments there.

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/.

Related