Duke Energy residential customer rates to decrease for Florida customers in January 2015

Duke Energy today announced a reduction in residential electricity bills beginning with the first billing cycle of January 2015.

As approved by the Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) today, residential customers will see a decrease of approximately $0.16 per month on a 1,000-kilowatt-hour (kWh) residential bill. This will reduce the current price of $125.29 to $125.13.

Commercial customers will see a bill change between a 0.1-percent decrease and a 1-percent increase. Industrial customers will see their bills change between a 3-percent decrease and a 1-percent increase.

Commercial and industrial customers who receive curtailable or interruptible service will be on the lower end of the range. This is a result of the Revised Settlement Agreement in Florida, which increased the amount of the credits customers receive for allowing the company to curtail or interrupt our service to them when conditions on the system necessitate it.

The rate adjustments result from several factors:

Fuel
Duke Energy makes a fuel cost-recovery filing annually with the FPSC. The fuel rate is based on the projected cost of power fuel used to generate electricity for the company’s customers, plus a true-up of the prior year’s projection.

The FPSC reviews fuel costs and adjusts the fuel component of customer rates accordingly.

The company makes no profit from the fuel component of rates.

Environmental Compliance
The conversion this year from oil to natural gas at the Anclote power plant will eliminate approximately 98 percent of the metals and approximately 99 percent of the sulfur dioxide (SO2) that the current units emit. Particulate emissions will be reduced by more than 90 percent. In addition to delivering environmental benefits, the conversion project is expected to lower the cost of fuel for customers by approximately $268 million over five years.

Also this year, Duke Energy began implementing its Mercury and Air Toxic Standards Compliance Plan for Crystal River Units 1&2 (CR 1&2) as approved by the FPSC. The company is making modifications to improve particulate collection efficiency and install systems to reduce HCI and mercury emissions. These activities are estimated to result in more than $300 million in savings when compared to retiring CR 1&2 in 2016, with net savings as soon as 2017.

Energy Conservation
The company also files annually to recover the costs of implementing programs designed to help residential customers reduce energy consumption and save money on their energy bills.

Duke Energy encourages customers to learn about available energy-efficiency programs and incentives at www.duke-energy.com.

Duke Energy owns coal-fired and natural gas generation in Florida providing about 9,000 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.7 million customers in a 20,000-square-mile service area.

With its Florida regional headquarters located in St. Petersburg, Fla., Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with approximately $115 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States.
Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com/Florida.