Duke Energy Carolinas customer rates to drop 3.6% next year after NCUC issues annual fuel filing order

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) — Duke Energy Carolinas customers in North Carolina will see their electric rates fall starting Jan. 1 as part of an annual adjustment for the cost of fuel used to generate electricity at its power plants.

A typical residential customer in North Carolina using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month will see an overall decrease of $5.17, or about 3.6%, from current rates, falling from $142.17 to $137. That is 23% below the national average of $177.09 – a difference of approximately $480 per year.

Commercial customers will see an average decrease in their bills of about 7.4%, and industrial customers will receive an average decrease of less than 1%.

Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2.2 million households and businesses in central and western North Carolina, including Charlotte, Durham and the Triad.

A proposed decrease for Duke Energy Progress customers is currently being evaluated by regulators; if approved, those customers would also see rates decline starting Dec. 1.