CHARLOTTE — For the second time in less than a month, Duke Energy is lowering its requested rate increase for Carolinas customers.
After a settlement with Public Staff and other consumer advocacy organizations, Duke Energy agreed to lower its request to an average annual increase of 3.7% over the next two years.
The initial rate request made in fall 2025 included an average increase of 15% over the next two years. That was lowered to 11.6% in June, after the intervention of Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
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In order to reduce the rate request so substantially, Duke Energy agreed to lower its expected return on equity by about 11 percent. That’s the rate of return the utility can earn on shareholder investments.
It also sets up a new framework for handling “large load customers,” which are customers who use a substantial amount of energy, like data centers. As a part of the agreement, three unnamed large-load interconnection projects, totaling $173.2 million in rate base, are removed from the rate case, reducing the amount other customers would pay now.
The settlement allows Duke Energy seek recovery on those costs in a future rate case, but Public Staff reserved the right to review the projects and challenge whether those costs should be recovered from other customers.
In addition, the settlement sets up a timeline for establishing a “large load tariff,” before the new rates take effect. That process is intended to determine how large energy users should pay for the infrastructure buildout required to serve them so other utility customers don’t have to foot the bill.
The agreement also creates a mechanism in which customers could get a refund because of these multiyear rate increases. Under the settlement, if infrastructure projects included in the rate plan are significantly delayed or not completed, customers could see refunds, including interest, for money collected for those projects. Duke Energy must also provide quarterly updates on the status and costs of these projects.
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This settlement applies only to Duke Energy Carolinas customers. Duke Energy Progress is going through a similar rate case.
The request still requires approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission before it’s finalized. If approved, the rate would go into effect on January 1, 2027.