CHARLOTTE -- Duke Energy Progress customers in North Carolina will pay less for electricity beginning Dec. 1. As approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC), the bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month will decrease $2.12, or nearly 2 percent, from $111.39 to $109.27.
The decrease reflects changes in three components of the rates N.C. residential customers pay. The changes, based on a monthly 1,000-kWh bill, include: A decrease of $1.22 in the monthly amount customers are charged for fuels used to generate electricity; a decrease of 68 cents in the monthly charge used to pay for energy-efficiency and demand-side management programs; and a decrease of 22 cents per month in the charge for adding renewable energy as required under state law.
Commercial customers would see an average 2.2 percent decrease per month, and industrial customers would see an average 1.1 percent monthly decrease.
"We know that electricity makes up a significant portion of customer expenses, and that any rate reduction can benefit North Carolina families and businesses," said Paul Newton, Duke Energy president – North Carolina. "Lower costs and efficiencies achieved as a result of our merger have helped to provide savings that we can pass on to our customers in the coming year. We will continue to work to provide safe, reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy now and in the future."
Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, serves 1.3 million customers in North Carolina, including the cities of Raleigh, Wilmington and Asheville.
The utility makes a fuel cost-recovery filing annually in North Carolina. The fuel rate is based on the projected cost of fuel used to provide electric service to the company's customers, plus a true-up of the prior year's projection.
The NCUC reviews fuel costs and adjusts the fuel component of customer rates accordingly.
By law, the company makes no profit from the fuel component of rates.
The company also files annually to recover the costs of implementing programs designed to help reduce energy consumption and save customers money on their energy bills, and for costs associated with the utility's renewable energy investments.
Under North Carolina's energy law passed in 2007, Duke Energy Progress was required to supply customers with renewable energy equivalent to 3 percent of retail sales by 2012. The utility met that requirement, which increases to 12.5 percent in 2021.
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