CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina Utility Commission held a public hearing Thursday on Duke Energy’s proposed rate hike.
The company wants to charge Duke Energy Carolinas customers more money to help pay for power grid upgrades, but customers say the upcharge is way too high.
"There's something absolutely inequitable about this," Nancy Carter said to WCNC Charlotte.
Under the proposal, Duke Energy Carolinas customers could see up to an 18% increase on their bills over three years.
"Residential consumers will bare the brunt of this rate increase," Jeff Robins with Clean AIRE NC said during a protest before the public hearing.
According to Duke Energy, a typical customer would pay about $13 more a month in 2024. Then, they'd see another monthly increase of about $4 in 2025, and then another increase of $3 in 2026.
In total, that’s $20 added to the average customer’s monthly bill.
"This proposed rate increase places an unfair burden on low income and BIPOC, Black and indigenous people of color, individuals who are already struggling to make ends meet," Robins added,
Clean energy advocates are also protesting the rate hike, arguing the money will pump up the use of fossil fuels.
Duke Energy Spokesperson Bill Norton told WCNC Charlotte that Duke Energy is already taking steps to reduce its use of fossil fuels.
"Half of our power is carbon-free nuclear; we’re number four in the nation for solar," Norton said.
Norton explained the rate hike is mainly to pay for upgrading the power grid, which improves service.
"Over the last five years, smart grid technology we’ve added has cut out about 400,000 outages," Norton added.
To address cost concerns, he said customers enrolled in one of Duke Energy’s low-income programs would get a $42 monthly bill credit under the proposal.
"They would end up paying less than they are today as part of that program," Norton said.
After hearing feedback from customers, the state's Utility Commission can negotiate changes to the proposed rate hike and will likely make a final decision by December.
If rate increases are approved, customers will see higher bills starting in January.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.