Duke Energy Progress South Carolina Rate Review Request 2025

Duke Energy Progress South Carolina Rate Review Request

Duke Energy Progress is committed to meeting the expectations our customers have around reliability, responsiveness, affordability and value. This proposal reflects the investments we have made to strengthen the grid, improve storm readiness, maintain and enhance our generating fleet, and serve a growing customer base. It also reflects how we are doing that work: with discipline, with a focus on operational excellence, and with a thoughtful approach to how and when we seek rate adjustments.

At the end of the day, our job is to keep the lights on so that our customers can go about their lives without worrying about whether the power will be there, while also doing our part to support South Carolina’s continued growth. That means investing in what matters, delivering results efficiently, and remaining transparent about what customers are paying for and why.

Why Now?

There is never a good time to propose a rate increase. We know families and businesses are juggling a lot, and we do not take a request to increase rates lightly. But being upfront and timely with our needs is the right thing to do.

There has not been a request to increase base rates for Duke Energy Progress customers since 2022. Since then, we have made investments in the things our 177,000 retail electric customers expect from us: upgrades to strengthen the grid, improve reliability, enhance storm resilience, and maintain and upgrade our generation fleet.

These investments are already in place and delivering benefits to South Carolina, from faster restoration times to improved reliability and operational efficiency. At the same time, we have worked hard to hold the line on day-to-day operating costs.

Submitting a request with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) this summer allows us to keep pace with the needs of a growing state, rather than falling behind, so we can continue to support reliability and long-term economic growth for the communities we serve.

The Reasons for the Request

This request is about following through on our commitment to South Carolina and staying focused on what matters to customers. Duke Energy Progress teammates are showing up every day to build, maintain and operate infrastructure and capabilities that support growth in this state – whether its storm-hardened lines in rural communities, system upgrades to support new industry, or technology that prevents outages or helps us respond faster when outages occur.

The investments in this case align with the company’s three big priorities:

Investing in what matters to customers – Things like improving the reliability of the grid, extending the life of cost-effective generation like the Robinson Nuclear Plant, and maintaining or upgrading infrastructure and systems that provide our customers what they need from us.

Operational excellence – We are doing more with less, keeping non-fuel operating costs low even as we expand and improve the system, and taking smart steps like increasing storm reserve funding so we are better prepared and able to lessen the impact to customer rates when a big storm hits.

Operational excellence is also reflected in the performance of our generating fleet, where Duke Energy Progress continues to outperform national averages.

Better matching recovery with investments – We are being more thoughtful about how and when we seek rate changes, aligning our requests more closely with the investments we have made. This approach helps prevent costs from building up between cases and promotes more predictability for customers. It has been three years since our last case, and this more measured approach allows us to stay closer to actual cost levels and reduces the need for deferral requests. In fact, we are only seeking to continue one existing deferral – for coal ash environmental compliance costs – in this case.

Additional Resources

SC Map showing Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress Services Areas.

The complete request and additional information can be found at the PSCSC website, docket number 2025-154-E.

View the news release.

View the fact sheet.

Thumbnail representation of rate case video title card.

View video.

What’s Next?

Frequently Asked Questions

A base rate review request – or rate case – is a very public regulatory review process, overseen by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC), in which a utility must demonstrate why a proposed increase in rates is needed. The process considers volumes of data and thousands of pages of testimony – including input from the public. Over a number of months, this independent, public process helps ensure transparency and fair rates based on the costs the utility incurs to serve its customers.
First, the company must demonstrate to the PSCSC exactly why the increase in rates is needed. The commission thoroughly reviews our request and holds public hearings to allow customers to comment. Within the next few months, the commission will conduct an evidentiary hearing and consider our written and oral testimony, along with differing viewpoints representing customer groups and other stakeholders. We expect a decision by early 2026. If approved, new rates would go into effect Feb. 1, 2026.
A customer’s electric bill is made up of two primary components: the base rate and the fuel rate.

Base rate

The base rate covers the company’s cost to operate and maintain the electric system, including the opportunity to earn a fair return for investors. Base rates are adjusted periodically to more closely align the rates paid by customers with the company’s costs to serve them.

Fuel rate

The fuel component, which increases or decreases annually, covers the company’s costs for coal, natural gas, uranium and other fuel-related items to keep our power plants running. The prices reflect the actual costs the company incurs to fuel its power plants. The fuel rate is a pass-through to customers and doesn’t include any profit.
The company’s application in front of the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) requests an overall revenue increase of $74.8 million, which represents a 12.1% increase over current revenues.

If approved, monthly electric bills for typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would increase $21.66 a month – from $144.85 per month to $166.51 – effective Feb. 1, 2026. Commercial customers will see an average increase of 12.8% and industrial customers will see an average increase of around 3.6%. The amount of increase per customer class may vary based on how much additional revenue is needed to ensure that the class is covering the cost to serve them.
Customers struggling to pay their energy bills might qualify for assistance from various government and nonprofit programs for utility bills and other household expenses. Duke Energy Progress also offers programs and resources to help customers manage their usage to mitigate the impact of rate changes as well as flexible payment arrangements to help customers experiencing uncertainty, to include flexible payment options including the Share the Light Fund^®, a Duke Energy program that provides energy assistance. To learn more about these programs, click or tap the icon below.