- Decrease incorporates benefits from federal Nuclear Production
Tax Credits, along with other rider adjustments
- Annual bills for typical residential customer are $466 below national average
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 31,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Carolinas customers
in North Carolina will see their
electric rates fall starting Jan. 1
as part of an annual adjustment for the cost of fuel used to
generate electricity at its power plants, along with other rider
adjustments.
A typical residential customer in North Carolina using 1,000 kilowatt-hours
(kWh) per month will see an overall decrease of $8.96, or about 6.2%, from current rates, falling
from $144.31 to $135.35. That is 22% below the national average
of $174.21 – a difference of
approximately $466 per year.
Commercial customers will benefit from an average decrease in
their bills of about 11.5%, and industrial customers will see an
average decrease of less than 1%.
Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2.2 million households and
businesses in central and western North
Carolina, including Charlotte, Durham and the Triad.
Elsewhere in the state, Duke Energy Progress customers are
already benefiting from a 4.5% decrease that went into effect on
Dec. 1.
Customer Savings Driven by Falling Fuel Prices
To ensure accurate rates, the North Carolina Utilities
Commission (NCUC) annually reviews the fuel costs needed to
generate electricity for customers, along with rider updates for
state programs to encourage clean energy adoption and reduce energy
use. The commission approved the following adjustments:
- A decrease of 8.8% to adjust for falling fuel prices.
- A decrease of 0.6% resulting from nuclear production tax
credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA); more than half of
Duke Energy's power in the Carolinas comes from carbon-free
nuclear.
- Adjustments of less than 1% to existing riders for customer
assistance, storm securitization, and energy efficiency and
demand-side management programs to lower energy use.
- An increase of 2.9% to base rates, as approved last January by
the NCUC in its 2024 multiyear rate case order.
The collective result is a 6.2% rate reduction for typical
residential customers – in other words, the decrease from fuel more
than offset the second-year increase to base rates.
Duke Energy works to actively manage fuel contracts to keep
costs as low as possible for customers. Bills reflect actual fuel
costs – customers pay what we pay. Learn more at Fuel Costs
& Your Bill.
Duke Energy Carolinas
Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 20,700
megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.9 million
residential, commercial and industrial customers across a
24,000-square-mile service area in North
Carolina and South
Carolina.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in
Charlotte, N.C., is one of
America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric
utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio
and Kentucky, and collectively own
54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities
serve 1.7 million customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition,
keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the
forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions
from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions
from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in
major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including
expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and
nuclear.
More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke
Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy
on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for
stories about the people and innovations powering our energy
transition.
Contact: Bill Norton
24-hour media line: 800.559.3853
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SOURCE Duke Energy