Low-income Duke Energy customers face losing bill relief by December

CHARLOTTE — A program providing direct bill relief to low-income energy customers in North Carolina is set to expire at the end of the year.

Approximately 80,000 Duke Energy customers enrolled in the Customer Assistance Program could lose their monthly savings just as the utility’s electricity rates are expected to increase by about 4.5%.

The Customer Assistance Program operated as a three-year pilot designed to assist low-income residents who qualify for state assistance.

Funded by small monthly contributions from other Duke Energy customers, the program provided $37 million in bill credits last year.

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Caroline Fountain, spokeswoman for Duke Energy, said the Customer Assistance Program was always intended as a temporary measure.

To replace the pilot, Duke Energy proposes utilizing $20 million in shareholder funds for programs such as Share the Light and weatherization assistance.

“This is an opportunity for us to look at yet another way to help our customers,” Fountain said. “That would be a more targeted approach to help those customers in need.”

Clean energy advocates argue that the proposed replacement does not provide the same level of assistance as monthly bill credits.

Eddy Moore with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy called the combination of expiring credits and rising utility rates a double whammy for low-income households.

“It seems like there’s always a reason why the cost is going up,” Moore said. He emphasized that struggling families require consistent aid, noting, “People who are, you know, going through really hard times with low incomes do not suddenly have a high income from month to month, right?”

Moore also disputed the idea that ending the customer-funded program would lead to meaningful savings for other utility customers.

“Now that the federal government’s no longer making pennies, there’s literally not a coin small enough to express how minimal the impact is on everyone else,” Moore said.

Before the program expires, Duke Energy plans to send bill messages and emails to enrolled customers to direct them toward alternative assistance resources.

The program’s expiration remains subject to regulatory review. The North Carolina Utilities Commission will determine whether the pilot program ends and how Duke Energy may replace it as part of the utility’s broader rate case, with a decision expected by the end of November.