Electricity Rates

State regulators will hear from experts at a hearing beginning Monday in Raleigh as they consider Duke Energy's request for a big rate hike in its central and western North Carolina territory.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Duke Energy has asked state regulators for a nearly 17% rate increase in western and central North Carolina to cover rising costs for natural gas and coal over the past year. That's the largest increase for fuel costs in the company's history and means Duke has pending rate hikes before regulators that total 27%.

Duke Energy is asking state regulators for a 15.7% rate increase over three years for central and western North Carolina, including Charlotte. Increases for residential customers would grow slightly faster than that.

State regulators face a year-end deadline to decide how Duke Energy will eliminate carbon emissions at power plants to meet the state's climate goals. After a year of debate, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is expected to issue an order next week.

Electricity rates will rise 9.9% on Thursday for Duke Energy Progress customers in Asheville, Raleigh and eastern North Carolina, because of higher costs for natural gas.