Duke Energy is requesting approval from state regulators for an increase in residential electric rates of up to 18% over the next two years.
For the average customer in North Carolina, that increase could mean about $34 more per month by 2028.
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The proposal comes as power bills continue to climb. Electric bills in North Carolina have risen about 22% since 2020 — fueling growing frustration.
More than 71,000 people had signed a petition as of Monday calling for an independent audit of Duke Energy’s billing practices. In Rocky Mount, protesters gathered to protest utility increases ahead of a special city council meeting on Monday.
The Utilities Commission heard directly from those concerns during a public hearing on Monday in Raleigh. The session is part of a formal review of Duke Energy’s request and will help inform regulators’ decision on whether the increase is “just and reasonable.” The proposal would increase average residential rates over two years, with Duke Energy Progress customers seeing an average increase of 18.5% and Duke Energy Carolinas customers facing an average hike of 15.8%.
For many customers, the concern is not just rising bills but how much higher they could go.
Duke Energy says the increase is needed to pay for a growing and more resilient electric system as North Carolina adds new residents and large energy users.
“There’s a lot of investment going into our electric system right now,” said Jeff Brooks, a spokesperson for Duke Energy. “Improvements, upgrades and infrastructure to support growth.”
That growth includes new industrial demand, such as manufacturing and data centers, which Duke says require additional generation, substations and transmission infrastructure to meet rising electricity needs.
Brooks said the company has added roughly 150,000 customers in recent years and expanded the grid with thousands of miles of power lines and tens of thousands of new poles. He said those investments, along with storm hardening and new “self-healing” technology designed to reduce outages, are driving the need for higher base rates.
“We get investment on the front end, and then we begin to recover those costs from customers,” Brooks said.
Under North Carolina’s regulatory system, utilities are allowed to recover infrastructure costs over time through rates. Critics say that it can shift financial risk onto customers, who pay for projects regardless of whether they ultimately reduce costs.
The proposed rate increase is only one part of what customers pay.
Separate charges, including fuel costs, are passed directly to customers and can fluctuate with market conditions. That exposure has drawn scrutiny as Duke relies more on natural gas to meet growing demand, tying customer bills more closely to fuel price volatility, including global energy markets.
Duke has said recent bill spikes were largely driven by higher electricity use during a stretch of extreme cold earlier this year. The current rate request is tied to longer-term investments rather than short-term usage.
The company reported record profits last year, up nearly 13% from the previous year. Critics have pointed to those gains as they question the need for additional increases.
“We’ve not forgotten about our customers,” Brooks said. “We understand that some customers are struggling.”
The proposed increase would be phased in over time, with about an 11% increase in the first year, followed by roughly 4% increases in each of the next two years.
“A lot of what we’re trying to do is spread costs out over time, helping to avoid those spikes as much as we can,” Brooks said.
In response to calls for an audit, Brooks pointed to the existing regulatory process, which includes oversight from the Utilities Commission and public input.
“We understand and appreciate the concerns that our customers have,” Brooks said.
Regulators will weigh those concerns in the months ahead, including during an expert witness hearing scheduled for August.