Duke Energy Carolinas today asked South Carolina regulators to review its current rates – the first such review since 2018 – as the company continues working to increase system diversity and reliability, enhance the customer experience, and meet future energy demands for more than 658,000 customers primarily in the Upstate region of South Carolina.
“We realize many of our customers are facing challenging times and we are committed to working to keep customer bills as low as possible,” said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy’s South Carolina president.
“We also know that our customers expect us to responsibly invest for the future to increase the reliability and resiliency of our system, help reduce outages, protect against damage from extreme weather and provide them with the level of service they expect. These investments are the main reason for the proposed rate increase,” Callahan said.
To mitigate the requested rate increase filed with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC), the company proposes to accelerate the return of excess deferred income tax benefits resulting from the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Act”). This proposal more quickly returns the outstanding tax benefits due to customers, making the requested increase in annual retail revenues about 11.4%, or a $239 million increase, over the first two years that the new rates would be effective.
An additional overall increase of about 4.1% would occur after the first two years once the reduction for excess deferred income taxes expires. If the proposal to mitigate the requested increase is not approved, it would result in a requested annual revenue increase of $323 million, or an overall increase of about 15.5%, starting in year one of newly effective rates.
If approved by the PSCSC, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh will see an increase of about 14.6% or $17.83 per month beginning Aug. 1, 2024. Beginning Aug. 1, 2026, residential rates would increase another 4.8%, resulting in an additional $10.25 per month.
Duke Energy has numerous current and proposed energy efficiency programs available to customers who would like to exercise more control over their usage to lower their bills, which could help minimize the impact of the requested increase. Customers struggling to pay their energy bills might also qualify for assistance from various government and nonprofit programs for utility bills and other household expenses. Duke Energy also offers programs and resources to help customers manage their usage to lessen the impact of rate changes, as well as flexible payment arrangements to help customers experiencing uncertainty. Additional customer support is available through the Share the Light Fund, a Duke Energy program that provides energy assistance.
To learn more about these programs, details of the company’s proposal, and the rate review process, visit duke-energy.com/SCCarolinasRates.
Duke Energy Carolinas
Duke Energy Carolinas owns 19,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.8 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across a 24,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.
Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics, and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
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