Duke Energy Makes Rare Cut to NC Rate Hike

Duke Energy Carolinas has agreed to lower its proposed electricity rate increase for North Carolina customers — and it’s a bigger rollback than the company has ever made at this stage of the process.

The company calls it a “significant and unprecedented voluntary reduction” — the first time it has cut a request by this much during the rebuttal phase of a rate case.

The revised filing landed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission ahead of a July 7 evidentiary hearing. Under the new plan, the cumulative two-year increase drops from 14.3% to 9.3%, broken into a 7.5% bump in 2027 and 4.2% in 2028.

The company says it got there by reducing its profit rate, removing some large-customer infrastructure costs, and passing along storm-related savings.

The move follows months of pushback. Customers across the state told regulators that higher bills would force hard choices around groceries, housing, and medical care. Attorney General Jeff Jackson, Gov. Josh Stein, and the NC Public Staff all argued the original request was too high.

“Over the last few months, we have listened carefully to feedback from customers and stakeholders,” a Duke Energy spokesperson said.

Jackson welcomed the reduction but said the fight isn’t over.

He called it “a step in the right direction” while insisting the revised request remains too high. “We’ll keep making our case for lower rates — and for making sure families don’t get stuck paying unfair costs for data centers and other large users,” he said.