Duke reduces rate hike request, still faces regulator pushback

Duke originally requested an 18% residential rate hike, but lowered its request to 11.6% after pushback from customers and the state Attorney General Jeff Jackson.

 

“Our case was that Duke could afford a lower rate while still meeting its needs. Duke just agreed,” Jackson said in a June 22 release, but added that the new rate “is still too high. Our case is about lowering this rate hike and making sure rates for data centers and other large users are handled in a way that is fair to families.”

 

Jackson’s office has argued that Duke is mishandling the balance between its data center and residential customers. An energy expert witness for the office, Current Energy Group regulatory consultant Justin Brant, testified to the commission in June that the utility’s approach “shifts significant costs and risks onto other ratepayers.”