This week’s 90-degree temperatures can be tough on customers who cannot afford to pay higher electric bills.

It comes as Duke Energy is requesting an 18% rate increase over the next two years from the Public Utilities Commission.

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Fuquay-Varina resident Melanie Joseph and her kids are spending most of their time offline as their family had to cut streaming services and extra costs to make ends meet.

“We'll budget what we think it's going to be, and then we'll get the bill, and it'll be, like, $100 more, $200 more,” Joseph said.

WRAL News asked Joseph what the decisions mean for her family.

“That means that we're running out of corners to cut,” Joseph said. “You know, when we have to look at the bills, how much gas we can put in the car, where we can go, where we can't go.”

Joseph said she reached out for help and found Social Services had no more funds to give, a federal program only provides relief during winter months and she hasn’t found a church willing to assist.

WRAL News asked Joseph if she felt like the help is out there for her and her family.

“Not at all,” she said. “No, and it really, it hurts my heart for those that are not able to stay in their current situation.” 

 Duke Energy has assistance programs for those who make 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, which means an income of not more than $62,000 per year for a family of four people. 

 “We are in a time where demand for energy is increasing across the board, and we use energy in ways that we haven't used in the past, and so we have to meet that need,” Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said.

Ahead of its stakeholder meeting, Duke Energy released its proxy statement which reflects CEO Harry Sideris made $13,652,620 for nine months of work in 2025. While it’s a lot of money, his total compensation is lower than:

  • Constellation Energy (Baltimore, Maryland) CEO Joseph Dominguez: $17.2 million in 2025
    • Southern Company (Atlanta) CEO Christopher Womack: $23.9 million in 2025

      Sideris’ salary does not sit well with Joseph.

      “[It makes me] sick to my stomach because that would be enough for me to buy a house and not have a mortgage to pay, and that's all I'm trying to do,” Joseph said.

      Duke Energy said so far in 2026, it has distributed more than $1 million from Share the Light Fund, which customers can contribute to each month to help their neighbors. The utility said last year it distributed more than $3.9 million to agencies in the community.