Duke Energy

North Carolina is getting ready to overhaul how owners of residential rooftop solar panels get paid, including reducing what Duke Energy pays for excess electricity sent to the grid. But it won't happen as soon as expected.

As the start of construction nears for the city of Charlotte's first solar farm in Iredell County, the city is seeking a developer for a second solar project to help meet its climate goals.

Duke Energy will raise rates by 4.8% beginning June 1 for residential customers in Asheville, Raleigh and eastern North Carolina. It's an interim rate hike while regulators decide on a three-year, 18.7% increase.

Duke Energy's profits fell 6% during the first quarter compared with a year ago as warm winter weather reduced energy usage.

Duke Energy executives faced questions from state regulators Thursday on their plan to sharply hike electricity rates in eastern North Carolina and the Asheville area.

State utility regulators will begin hearing expert testimony this week to help them decide how much Duke Energy should be allowed to raise electricity rates in eastern North Carolina and the Asheville area.

North Carolina regulators have approved a pilot program that would allow Duke Energy to supplement the power grid with electricity from customers' electric vehicle batteries when demand is high. The test will initially involve 100 customers who lease Ford F-150 Lightning pickup trucks.

Advocates for changing the way electricity is managed and delivered in North Carolina are hoping that a bill filed in the state House of Representatives last week will give a boost to the idea. But don't hold your breath: The state's big utility, Duke Energy, opposes it and has a lot of influence at the General Assembly.

As North Carolina addresses the causes of climate change, much of the focus has been on switching from fossil-fuel power plants to renewable energy, such as wind and solar. We hear less about another important tactic — energy efficiency.

A bill filed at the North Carolina House of Representatives on Tuesday would pay for a study of electricity market reforms that backers say would reduce energy bills and prevent blackouts like those that struck Duke Energy customers last December.