Utility inflation on agenda for Person County commissioners
Board’s vote to approve increasing electric grid with solar farm expansion comes as ‘affordability,’ inflation lead voters’ concerns
ROXBORO, N.C. – Person County residents pay some of the highest electric costs in the state, but that could start to change if the county Board of Commissioners votes to approve a new solar farm at the council meeting next week.
On the agenda for the February 2 meeting is a 500-acre solar farm slated to add as much as 16 percent new capacity. That’s a step experts say could start to lower residential electric bills.
If the commissioners vote to allow the electric capacity expansion project, the new capacity could add 80,000 new megawatts of power to the grid. That’s enough to power about 2,500 houses per year.
Person County residents pay some of the highest utility bills in North Carolina and the United States, but the proposed Hyco Solar Project could change that.
The county currently limits solar projects to 100 acres, but the Hyco project would be 500 acres. Experts say the larger size is needed to make the investment viable and to produce the larger amount of needed power.
Larry Ward is president of American Power Play, an advocacy group that supports the project. He says it’s a win-win for residents.
“Affordability is one of the biggest issues on voters’ minds, and any project that will address electric bill inflation is a winning issue for Person County,” Ward said. “In these projects, scale is needed to provide affordable energy.”
Affordability is a national and state issue.
In a 2025 survey of North Carolinians, more than half said inflation had worsened in the year, and 76 percent gave the state’s economy a “C” grade or lower, including 61 percent of Republicans.
And a national Fox News poll from mid-December found 72% of voters rate national economic conditions negatively, and 90% say they are extremely or very concerned about inflation and high prices.
Right now, Person County uses about 502,600 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity per year. That’s roughly 12.9 MWh per person annually, or about 32 (MWh) per household.
A vote by the county Board of Commissioners to wave restrictions on the proposed project would increase capacity by as much as 16 percent. That, experts say, could ease the cost of electricity to residents.
Currently, utility bills for Person County households are about $170 per month. That’s higher than the average North Carolina household, and recent Roxboro data shows a double-digit increase just in the last year.
North Carolina is in the top 20 most expensive for average monthly electric bills, but Person County is at the upper end of costs nationwide. It would rank higher than Hawaii, which is the state at the top of that list.
Overall, the cost of electricity in the United States rose 6.7 percent in 2025. Roxboro saw an increase of 13 percent.
In the last five years, electricity cost has risen by as much as 40 percent in Person County, which is higher than the estimated 20 percent increase in North Carolina overall.
About one-third of county residents considered low-income, according to the 2024 Person County Economic Snapshot, and 57 percent of renters being cost-burdened. In addition, county median earnings are below a basic living income standard for typical families, according to Snapshot.
If Person County residents were to get the rate reduction of 16 percent, which is equal to the added capacity of the Hyco project, it would amount to more than $300 per person in a year.
The Person County Board of Commissioners is expected to vote on the proposal at its February 2 meeting. Board of Commissioners members are Shery Wilborn, Antoinetta Royster, Jason Thomas, Kyle Puryear and Donald Long.
Puryear is chairman of the Board of Commissioners, and Wilborn is vice chairwoman. Long was appointed to the commission last year, and Thomas was elected in 2022. All four are Republicans. Royster, who was elected in 2024, is the lone Democrat on the board.
Cypress Creek Renewables, the company behind the Hyco project, has developed more than 250 solar projects across North Carolina.
The company says the project will deliver more than $7.5 million in county tax revenue over its 40-year lifespan that will go toward funding schools, roads and emergency services. It will create 95 construction jobs, several long-term positions and attract new business investments.
Cypress Creek says the project will be designed to blend in with the landscape, operate quietly and cleanly and will protect wildlife.
The company says the project will be developed in full compliance with land use requirements, will involve minimal environmental disruption compared to other land use types and will not deplete water resources, construct large building foundations or cover the natural environment with asphalt.
“Cypress Creek is committed to mitigating our environmental impact to ensure that the project provides a net benefit to the residents and wildlife of Person County and North Carolina,” its website says. “Our solar equipment adheres to the highest national standards (ANSI and UL) and has no impact on the atmosphere, soil or groundwater. Numerous studies and years of testing, which Cypress Creek is happy to share, support this.”
It says the Hyco facility will be monitored remotely 24/7, with local technicians handling maintenance and emergency response.