The state's Utilities Commission will soon decide whether Duke Energy can increase residential electric rates by up to 18% over two years. It's the first big decision for the commission since it shifted to a Republican majority.
In late 2024, the legislature took an appointment to the Utilities Commission away from the governor and gave it to the state treasurer. That meant the commission went from a Democratic majority to a GOP majority, and three of the current commissioners are former legislators: former Democratic Sen. Floyd McKissick, Republican Sen. Tommy Tucker and Republican Rep. Bill Brawley.
Speaking on the WUNC Politics Podcast, Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, says that change is concerning as the commission considers the Duke Energy rate hike.
"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 says the rate increase is needed to keep up with growing demand for electricity and an effort to "harden" the grid to prevent power outages during storms.
“There’s a lot of investment going into our electric system right now,” spokesman Jeff Brooks recently told WRAL. “Improvements, upgrades and infrastructure to support growth.”
But Dan Crawford with the N.C. League of Conservation Voters says the request stems in part from a bill the legislature passed last year. That bill allows Duke to fund the cost of future investments through current electric rates.
"Would you like to have a car payment for a car that you're not driving yet?" Crawford told 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 holding public hearings on the proposed increases, including one Monday at 7 p.m. at the Person County Courthouse in Roxboro. More hearings are set for locations including Waynesville (April 14), Morganton (April 28), Durham (May 12) and Winston-Salem (May 6).
The NC Public Staff, which advocates for consumers in rate cases, is collecting feedback and data and plans to release its recommendation to the commission in May.
