Duke Energy trims proposed rate hike, but customers remain concerned
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Duke Energy customers could see a smaller rate increase than originally proposed after months of public hearings and negotiations reduced the utility company's request by nearly half.
The energy provider initially sought an 18% rate increase during the next two years. That proposal has since been reduced to a 9.5% increase during two years, which Duke Energy says would help fund infrastructure upgrades and investments needed to meet growing energy demand.
Some customers say rising utility bills are already straining household budgets.
"I'm paying more than I always have," one Duke Energy customer said.
I definitely don't think the people at the lowest level, you know, should be the ones feeling it for these rate increases.- Dustin DeGiffarde, Duke Energy customer
Customer Uddesh Chakraborty said he has seen higher bills despite efforts to reduce energy use.
"I think the bills are significantly increasing," Chakraborty said. "I'm usually very vigilant about my electricity usage. Last year I got like an $80 bill for like, let's say June 2025. And I think I got like a $120 bill for June 2026 for using less energy," he said.
Dustin DeGiffarde said he also noticed rising costs.
"It's one of those things of like, you, of course, always think, is it me first? You know, am I doing something crazy? Did I leave the freezer open or something wild like that? I'm not doing anything different; that means the energy costs must be going up," DeGiffarde said.
Under the revised proposal, residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would increase by $6.53 a month, going from $157.15 to $163.68 starting Jan. 1, 2027, followed by a $4.66 increase on Jan. 1, 2028.
Though DeGiffarde acknowledged the reduction from the original proposal, he questioned why rates are increasing at all.
"My first thought is immediately like, oh, 18%. Yeah, that's a lot. 9% less than that. Cool. But why are we going up at all right now? What's going on? Like, I definitely don't think the people at the lowest level, you know, should be the ones feeling it for these rate increases," he said.
Duke Energy said the reduced proposal came after hearing concerns from customers during weeks of public hearings held by the North Carolina Utilities Commission across the state.
"Given the cost of living pressures that we know our customers are facing right now, along with the conversations that we've had as part of these discussions, we felt we needed to make a reduction," Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said.
Brooks said a rate increase remains necessary as North Carolina's population and energy needs continue to grow.
"We've added about 150,000 customers over the last two years here in the state, and those are residential and business customers, and that required about 50,000 new poles and about 4000 miles of new lines. We've also added self-healing technology, which has really started to deliver big benefits for our customers," Brooks said.
Brooks also highlighted a new bill analysis tool designed to help customers better understand changes to their monthly bills.
"There's also explanations on your bill to explain what the charges are, and all of these tools are our you know goal to help customers be more educated about how they use energy, how that impacts their monthly bill, and that can help them to build strategies to save over time," Brooks said.
The proposed rate increase remains under review as Duke Energy and state regulators continue the process.
