Duke Energy customers across the state will have a chance to share their thoughts about a possible increase to their power bills.
The public will have a chance to speak directly to state regulators about possible Duke Energy rate hikes on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at a public hearing at the Durham County Courthouse.
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The hearing, originally scheduled for last month, was postponed.
Electric bills in North Carolina have already gone up about 22% since 2020, and Duke Energy is asking state regulators for approval to raise rates again.
A power bill could increase up to 18% over the next two years if the request is approved, which means the average customer would pay $34 more a month by 2028.
Duke Energy, which reported nearly $5 billion in net income in 2025, says the increase is needed to pay for growth, which includes new residents and large energy users like data centers.
The utility company explains it must invest more money on the front end to save money on the back end for customers.
"...about 150,000 new customers just in the last two years that have come into the state...All that requires new substations, new transmission lines, new poles and wires." Duke Energy spokesperson Jeff Brooks said.
He told WRAL that the growth goes beyond households.
"Part of that comes from industrial customers like pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and data centers. We are going to see that grow over the next several years."
Some state leaders have pushed back on the plan in recent days. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson this week argued that the proposed rate of Duke Energy's profits going to investors is too high.
"We think they overshot the mark. Which means they also overshot the mark on how much money they need from you," Jackson said in a video posted to social media.
Brooks said the North Carolina Utilities Commission ultimately decides the rates.
"We don't set those rates, the regulators do, and by this fall we should get a ruling on that to determine what will the final increase be. No doubt there will be some give and take in that process," Brooks said.
However, the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network is pushing back.
"Economically, that doesn’t really work, because we also know that the dollar tomorrow is worth less than the dollar today," said Rania Masri. "And we know that, right now in North Carolina, every single family needs that money today. We are facing increased living costs, increased healthcare costs, increased food costs, and increased gasoline costs."
Masri is urging regulators to "make sure utility rates do not increase. That is essential. To make sure that Duke Energy itself pays for its own infrastructure and does not put the burden on North Carolina citizens."
For Duke Energy customers like Raleigh resident Calvi Dzury, each click of the thermostat could become costlier.
"Taking more and more money monthly, you have to just cut back in every sense. It makes you miserable," Dzury said. "If this rate hike just kind of gets passed, is it setting a precedent not only just to Duke but to any monopolies in the area that you can just keep going with these random raises?"