Rising fuel costs to increase Duke Energy Progress customer bills in South Carolina

Duke Energy Progress is proposing an increase in monthly fuel costs for its South Carolina customers beginning this summer as part of an annual adjustment of the actual cost of fuel used to generate electricity at its power plants.

Duke Energy Progress makes a fuel cost recovery filing annually with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC). The fuel rate is based on the projected cost of fuel used to provide electric service to the company’s customers, plus a true-up of the prior year’s projection. By law, the company makes no profit from the fuel component of rates.

The company made its annual fuel filing. If approved by the PSCSC, the new fuel rates would go into effect July 1.

Under the proposal, typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month would see their bills increase from the current $121.47 to $124.71, an increase of $3.24, or 2.7 percent.

Commercial customers would see an average increase in their bills of about 1.1 percent, and industrial customers would receive an average increase of about 2.4 percent.

The main reasons for the proposed overall increase in rates is an under-collection of projected fuel costs of $23.4 million for the prior period.

Duke Energy Progress works to actively manage its fuel contracts to keep fuel costs as low as possible for customers. Savings achieved from the joint dispatch of Duke Energy’s generation fleet in the Carolinas also help to minimize the company’s fuel costs. The PSCSC reviews fuel costs and adjusts the fuel component of customer rates accordingly.

The proposed increase would affect the bills of all Duke Energy Progress customers in South Carolina. The company’s other South Carolina utility -- Duke Energy Carolinas -- will make its annual fuel filing in July.

Duke Energy Progress is committed to helping customers take control of their energy use and manage their bills. The company offers energy-saving tips and innovative efficiency programs for every budget to help customers realize additional savings.

For example, the Home Energy House Call is a free in-home energy assessment, valued at $180, designed to give Duke Energy customers more information about how they use energy in their home and strategies to save money on their monthly bill.

To learn more about these programs, visit www.duke-energy.com/savings.

Duke Energy Progress
Duke Energy Progress owns nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas, renewables and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides about 12,900 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.5 million customers in a 32,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the United States. Its Electric Utilities and Infrastructure business unit serves approximately 7.5 million customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. The company’s Gas Utilities and Infrastructure business unit distributes natural gas to approximately 1.6 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its Commercial Renewables business unit operates a growing renewable energy portfolio across the United States.

Duke Energy is a Fortune 125 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. 

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