The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved the Duke Energy Progress request to lower customer rates by 4.5 percent.
The lower rates begin this month. In a message to WIZS, Duke Energy’s Local Government and Community Relations Manager Beth Townsend said, “It’s important to note that with the cold snap we’re having right now, most customers are using more energy compared to last month – we had a very warm fall. If you’re running your heat around the clock, your next bill will be higher of course – but it will be 4.5 percent lower than what it would have been under the old rates.”
In a press release from Townsend, it’s indicated that Duke Energy Progress residential customer rates in North Carolina will decrease 4.5 percent as part of an annual adjustment for the cost of fuel used to generate electricity at the utility’s power plants.
The release said, “A typical residential customer in North Carolina using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month will see an overall decrease of $7.34, or about 4.5 percent lower than prior rates… That is 11 percent below the national average of $174.21 – a difference of approximately $235 per year.”
Commercial customers will benefit too, from an average decrease of about 6.3 percent, while industrial customers will see an average decrease of less than 0.1 percent.
Duke Energy Progress serves about 1.5 million customers in central and eastern North Carolina, including Raleigh, as well as the Asheville region.
