CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke Energy agreed today to a 7.2 percent rate hike for its N.C. customers, cutting its initial 15 percent request by more than half.
Duke agreed in principle to the limited increase with the N.C. Utilities Commission's Public Staff, which represents customers. The commission itself still has to approve; a hearing begins Monday.
The agreement gives each of Duke's major customer classes - residential, industrial and commercial - the same 7.2 percent increase.
Duke had initially proposed a 17 percent hike for residential customers, adding about $18 a month to typical monthly bills.
The settlement trims $336 million in annual revenue from the $646 million Duke had sought.
Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose job is also to advocate for consumers, immediately announced he would oppose the increase.
A 7.2 percent rate increase is too much for working families and businesses during these tough economic times, Cooper said in a statement. At the hearing, our attorneys will ask tough questions and urge the Utilities Commission to consider the impact on consumers.
Robert Gruber, executive director of the Public Staff, defended the settlement. Most of the rate increase would pay for the $4.8 billion in construction projects Duke has underway in the Carolinas.
There will be some ratepayers who don't think they should get any increase, Gruber said. But (Duke) has added about $4 billion in plants and we've got a responsibility to judge that on the merits.
Duke has 1.8 million customers in North Carolina.
