Just saw that Duke Energy filed for another rate increase across their service territory, effective April 1st. Residential customers looking at about 8% increase, but commercial and industrial rates are going up 12-15%. The increase is primarily driven by new generation investments and grid modernization costs. Anyone else seeing similar increases from their local utilities? Seems like everyone is raising rates this spring.
Duke Energy Rate Increase - Effective April 1st
We're seeing the same trend here in Louisiana with Entergy. Filed for 11% increase citing storm recovery and infrastructure upgrades. The challenge for us auditors is that rate increases can sometimes mask billing errors - clients assume higher bills are just due to the rate hike and don't question them as closely.
Both great points about the widespread rate increases. What I'm telling my clients is that rate increase periods are actually the perfect time for a comprehensive audit. Utilities are processing a lot of billing system changes, and that's when errors tend to creep in. Plus, any billing corrections we find get amplified by the new higher rates going forward. I'd encourage everyone to proactively reach out to clients about post-rate-increase audits - it's a natural conversation starter.