As Duke Energy seeks approval to raise residential electricity rates by up to 18% over the next two years, the state’s Utilities Commission is poised to make a critical decision. This comes on the heels of a significant shift in the commission’s makeup, now dominated by a Republican majority following recent legislative changes.
In a pivotal move in late 2024, the authority to appoint members to the Utilities Commission was transferred from the governor to the state treasurer. This change resulted in the transition to a GOP-led commission, with members including former Democratic Sen. Floyd McKissick, Republican Sen. Tommy Tucker, and Republican Rep. Bill Brawley.
During an interview on the WUNC Politics Podcast, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, voiced his concerns regarding the commission’s new composition as it deliberates the Duke Energy proposal.
“If you look at some of the past appointees by Gov. (Roy) Cooper, folks brought industry, energy, environmental background, and it was actually a pretty diverse mix on the Utilities Commission that I think also had a lot of the technical expertise to do the due diligence on any of these rate increases,” Chaudhuri said.
Duke Energy justifies the proposed rate hike by citing the necessity to accommodate increasing electricity demand and to enhance grid resilience against storm-induced outages.
“There’s a lot of investment going into our electric system right now,” Jeff Brooks, a Duke Energy spokesman, recently stated to WRAL. “Improvements, upgrades and infrastructure to support growth.”
However, Dan Crawford from the N.C. League of Conservation Voters attributes the request partly to a legislative bill passed the previous year. This legislation permits Duke to apply the costs of future investments to current rates.
“Would you like to have a car payment for a car that you’re not driving yet?” Crawford commented to the WUNC Politics Podcast. “We don’t like having car payments for cars we’re driving, and so that’s what Duke gets to do. They get to charge you for the car before you get to drive it, and that’s penny-wise and pound-foolish when they’re making $5 billion in profits.”
The Utilities Commission is in the process of holding public hearings about the potential rate hikes, with the next session scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. at the Person County Courthouse in Roxboro. Additional hearings are planned for Waynesville (April 14), Morganton (April 28), Durham (May 12), and Winston-Salem (May 6).
The NC Public Staff, responsible for consumer advocacy in rate cases, is gathering input and data, with a recommendation expected to be released in May.
