Power bills are rising for some Duke Energy customers in central NC

RALEIGH, NC -- Power bills are going up slightly for Duke Energy households in central and western North Carolina this week.

Those affected include customers in parts of Durham and Wake counties as well as some areas of Chatham, Orange, and Person counties.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission last week ordered that new rates for Duke Energy Carolinas customers can take effect starting Wednesday.

The order means residential customers will see a tiny increase on power starting this week.

The typical household will start seeing bills rise by about 84 cents a month from around $104. Residential power bills will increase an extra 1.2 percent after four years.

But industrial and other customers will see their bills cut by an average of 1.6 percent to nearly 4 percent.

Duke Energy had asked to raise rates by more than 8 percent.

The operating unit of Duke Energy has about 2 million customers.