Just got confirmation that Duke Energy Progress customers in eastern NC are getting hit with a 13.8% increase effective February 1st. This is on top of the Duke Carolinas increase from last year. Anyone tracking the cumulative impact on businesses operating in both Duke territories?
Duke Energy Progress NC - 13.8% approved for 2026
Gail - I've been dreading this one. I have a retail chain with stores in both Duke Carolinas and Duke Progress territories. Between the two increases, their total rate impact is about 31% over 12 months. Some locations are seeing $2,000+ monthly increases with no change in operations.
Derek's math sounds right. I audit several manufacturing plants that operate across both Duke territories. The eastern NC facilities (Duke Progress) were actually running lower costs until this increase. Now they're almost identical to the Charlotte-area plants on Duke Carolinas rates.
Harriet, that's exactly what my manufacturing clients are seeing - cost parity between territories that used to have meaningful differences. One client is reconsidering a planned expansion in Wilmington because the labor cost advantage is being offset by higher energy costs.
The timing couldn't be worse with interest rates still high and material costs up. I'm seeing clients postpone capital projects and some are seriously looking at relocating to South Carolina or Tennessee where rates are still more reasonable.
The cumulative impact of these rate increases across multiple utility territories is becoming a major economic development issue for the region. As auditors, we need to be more proactive about identifying opportunities for demand response, energy storage, and alternative rate schedules that can help offset these increases.