Duke Energy Progress NC Rate Case 2019

On Oct. 30, 2019, Duke Energy Progress asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) to review its rates as the company continues working to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen its grid and improve the customer experience.

In spring 2020, Duke Energy Progress worked with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the Public Staff, and other parties to postpone the rate case hearing due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on daily life and the need for additional safety precautions. The evidentiary hearing is now scheduled to begin on July 27, 2020.

The NCUC will ultimately set new customer rates after conducting a review process that includes multiple opportunities for public comment and a determination of whether the company's investments were prudent and in customers' best interest.

How a rate case works

Working today for a smarter tomorrow

Shifting to cleaner energy

• Duke Energy Progress replaced the Asheville coal plant with a highly efficient natural gas plant that came into service late 2019.
• The utility is proposing to shorten the depreciable lives of its two remaining coal-fired power plants as the company transitions to cleaner energy sources, including continued investment in carbon-free nuclear and more renewables and highly-efficient natural gas.
• The company is responsibly managing coal ash and safely closing ash basins at operating and retired coal plant sites in the Carolinas. Federal and state regulatory compliance costs incurred after August 2017 to safely close ash basins in the Carolinas are included in the proposal.

Improving reliability and grid resiliency

• We are a society that is dependent on the 24/7 flow of electricity to our homes, businesses and schools. We are continuing work to improve the grid, making it stronger and more resistant to power outages from severe weather and flooding, and better protected against physical and cyber threats.
• This rate request includes costs to rebuild the electric system and restore power after major storms in 2018. If Senate Bill 559 becomes law, Duke Energy Progress will seek to securitize these costs, addressing them through lower interest rates to provide savings to customers.
• Self-healing technology is helping to speed restoration by automatically detecting power outages and quickly rerouting power to customers. During Hurricane Florence in 2018, this technology helped to avoid more than 80,000 customer outages.

Providing customers more convenience

• Duke Energy Progress has deployed nearly 1 million smart meters, providing customers enhanced usage data and usage alerts, improved outage detection and enabling new programs tailored to help customers make smarter energy choices and save money.
• We're also proposing to eliminate individual credit and debit card fees for residential customers when paying bills.