North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson says a rate increase Duke Energy Progress wants would cost its customers nearly $960 million more than necessary over two years. Jackson’s office made the case in an Oct. 6 statement, and he has refused to sign onto the utility’s request. The North Carolina Utilities Commission, which sets the rates, has the final say.
What the attorney general is arguing
Jackson said in July that Duke Energy Progress “wants families in eastern North Carolina to pay 15% more,” WECT reported. His office says the request leans on a return on equity of 10.95 percent, which is the profit rate Duke is allowed to earn on its investments. Jackson’s experts say 7.4 percent would meet the utility’s needs and save ratepayers roughly $960 million over two years.
The Oct. 6 statement repeats the figure. It says the proposal would force Duke Energy Progress customers to pay nearly $960 million in unnecessary increases over two years. The $960 million is the attorney general’s estimate of the excess, not the full size of the increase, and it is his office’s number rather than the commission’s.
The settlement he would not sign
Duke Energy Progress serves eastern North Carolina and the Asheville area. In August it reached a settlement with the state’s Public Staff that would raise residential bills 6.8 percent over two years, Public Radio East reported. Duke’s shareholders would put in $10 million for bill assistance and weatherization, according to WECT.
Jackson said Duke “brought down their rate increase to 6.8%, but that’s still too high for families,” and added, “We’re not signing it.” If the commission approves, new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2027. No decision date has been announced.
For a household in Duke Energy Progress territory, the question is whether the bill goes up on Jan. 1, by how much, and what help exists for a winter budget. The commission’s final order will answer the first two.
A 6.8 percent residential increase on Jan. 1, 2027 would land in the middle of the heating season for Duke Energy Progress customers on fixed incomes. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit covers heating, cooling and home-repair help, along with an application log and renewal calendar.
Line up heating and cooling bill help with the Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit →
Why data centers are part of it
Jackson’s statement ties the rate fight to data centers. He asked the commission to put data centers in a separate rate class, so the cost of serving them is not spread across homes. Duke projects that more than 80 percent of its new energy demand will come from data centers and other large users, according to the release.
“Trillion-dollar tech companies can afford to build the infrastructure they need to power their data centers,” Jackson said. He is also pressing Duke to commit to the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge, under which large energy users would “build, bring, or buy” new generation and pay for new power delivery upgrades.
In a separate proceeding he has asked Duke to make its standard data center contract public, let data centers bring their own clean energy, and report any variations from the standard contract. He also wants Duke to update load forecasts every 90 days instead of every six months, and to pause new natural gas plant development while those forecasts are evaluated.
The western North Carolina case
A sister case covers Duke Energy Carolinas in the western part of the state. A settlement there would raise residential rates about 9.5 percent over two years, with 5.9 percent in year one and 3.6 percent in year two, NC Newsline reported. Jackson declined to sign that deal as well, because residential ratepayers would still see an average increase of about 9.5 percent, the Oct. 6 statement says.
The settlement does not need his approval. NC Newsline reported that he could take the matter to court, and the commission still has to approve any deal.
Help with winter heating bills
North Carolina’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program makes a one-time payment to a heating vendor for eligible households, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services says. Households with someone 60 or older, or a disabled person served by the Division of Aging and Adult Services, can sign up Dec. 1 to 31. All other households can apply Jan. 1 to March 31, or until funds run out.
Applicants may need identification, proof of address, Social Security numbers, income and asset records and a heating bill. The income test is set at 130 percent of the federal poverty level. Applications go through the state’s ePASS site or the local Department of Social Services, and the Customer Service Center is at 1-800-662-7030.
Tracking the Duke case through winter
The attorney general’s office posts its statements on the North Carolina Department of Justice site, the free place to follow what Jackson files next. The commission’s order will set the rates, so that is the document that settles whether the bill changes on Jan. 1.
Until then, a household can pull its last twelve electric bills and add them up. With that total in hand, a 6.8 percent increase is easy to translate into dollars. The same bills are what a heating-assistance application asks for.
The assistance window for older households opens Dec. 1, and the larger group waits until Jan. 1. A date in the calendar for each, plus a note of the documents needed, keeps the application from slipping.
A Jan. 1 rate change and a Dec. 1 window
Assistance opens Dec. 1 for households with someone 60 or older, and rates could change Jan. 1. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit pulls heating, cooling and home-repair help together with an application log and renewal calendar, so each application date and renewal sits in one place.
Get the application log and renewal calendar in the Home-Cost Relief Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
