NC Duke Rate Case Petition

Chair Charlotte Mitchell, NC Utilities Commission

Say no to Duke's rate hikes

In October, Duke Energy Progress asked the commission to review a three-year rate increase expected to raise the average monthly bill from $126.43 to $141.15 in late 2023 and up to $151.98 by 2025. As household budgets continue to get squeezed by inflation, these rate increases will make it more difficult for people to pay their power bills.

Duke Energy Progress’ proposed rate increase will be under review at the North Carolina Utilities Commission until mid-2023. Rate cases have public comment periods where customers can make their voices heard. Sign the petition to oppose Duke's rate increases today!


To: Chair Charlotte Mitchell, NC Utilities Commission
From: [Your Name]

The North Carolina Utilities Commission has an obligation to promote “just and reasonable rates and charges for public utility services and promote conservation of energy.” Despite this, nearly 600,000 households served by Duke Energy companies in North Carolina are currently struggling to pay their electric bills. In addition to the exorbitant cost Duke Energy has projected for its gas-heavy Carbon Plan proposal, the companies are now proposing rate increases that will further increase electricity costs for ratepayers.

Ensuring that ratepayer voices are considered in regards to the proposed rate increases requires significant community engagement and stakeholder input. We ask the North Carolina Utilities Commission to consider increased opportunities for public participation in all official proceedings and provide resources that inform the public on how the proposed rate changes will impact their bills, and where these increases are directed.

We have outlined these requests below with a proceeding section on recommendations.

• Public participation should meet the standards of Governor Cooper’s Executive Order on Climate Change and Equity (EO 246), including more robust public participation opportunities for residential customers who are not participating in legal intervention.
• Public participation and stakeholder processes should proactively engage communities disproportionately affected by rate changes including low- to moderate-income rate payers and historically marginalized communities.
• Any public process must provide education materials describing rate case impacts on residential customers, and should be produced by the NCUC or another appropriate third party provider.
• Public processes should expand participation accessibility for Spanish speaking populations. The NCUC should include translated materials and meeting recordings uploaded with Spanish subtitles.
• The stakeholder process and any public process should be facilitated by a third party.
• Public processes should provide advance meeting notices including agenda items and subsequent materials that are accessible to the average ratepayer and represent the interest of the ratepayer, not the utility.