Whether the Utilities Commission possessed the authority pursuant to N.C.G.S. 62-133(d) to authorize the earning of a return upon deferred operating expenses; whether N.C.G.S. 62-133.13, pertaining to unlawful discharges from coal ash basins to the surface waters of the State, bars recovery of the costs at issue; and whether an increase in the residential Basic Facilities Charge was unsupported by competent, material and substantial evidence pursuant to N.C.G.S. 62-94(b)(5) or unreasonably discriminatory.