Energy Efficiency Plan

What is Duke Energy’s Energy Efficiency Plan?

Duke Energy is committed to finding new ways to help your business address rising energy costs with environmentally sound, low-cost options. Our Energy Efficiency Plan is a new regulatory approach to energy efficiency. The plan supports the development of energy efficiency and demand response programs to help our customers save money and energy. By using less energy, we can help keep energy rates lower and reduce the need to build additional power plants.

The Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) approved this energy efficiency approach on May 6, 2009. Because an Energy Efficiency Rider was not approved at that time, an Opt-Out Provision was not offered. On Jan. 20, 2010, the PSCSC approved Duke Energy Carolinas’ general-rate increase, which also included approval for the Energy Efficiency Rider and an Opt-Out Provision.

Features & Benefits

  • Provides all customers with new Energy Efficiency programs, including energy assessments, incentive rebates and demand response, that make access to energy-saving equipment easy and affordable.
  • Reduces electricity consumption, helping Duke Energy avoid building new generation facilities.
  • Represents an important departure from traditional energy efficiency regulatory models where utilities are compensated based on how much they spend rather than the results they produce. Under the plan, Duke Energy will only be paid for verified energy reductions.

How It Works

  • Duke Energy will assist customers in “saving watts” rather than relying solely on building new power plants to meet energy demands.
  • Duke Energy will provide all customers with energy efficiency programs to help them conserve energy.
  • By implementing energy efficiency programs, customers will pay less than the cost of building and operating new power plants.
  • After four years, the energy efficiency programs are projected to displace the need for 1,700 megawatts of capacity, or about 745,000 megawatt hours. As the results from new energy efficiency programs are realized, the company will retire older coal plants, significantly reducing emissions.
  • The cost associated with implementation of our Energy Efficiency Plan will be shared among all customers.
  • Duke Energy industrial customers in South Carolina can “opt out” of the program if they’ve implemented their own energy efficiency measures or intend to do so in the near term. For more information on opting out, please visit our Opt-out Provision Web page.