As Duke Energy asks North Carolina families to pay even more for electricity, advocates and elected leaders gathered outside the North Carolina Utilities Commission last week to call for lower rates and greater accountability from the utility giant.
The press conference came as commissioners heard expert testimony on Duke Energy Progress’ latest rate proposal. Duke Energy Progress originally sought an 18.1% increase for residential customers before scaling back its request following public pressure. The latest proposal would still mean about a 9.3% increase for residential households over the next two years.
Those proposed increases come as Duke is reporting strong profits. The Charlotte-based company posted approximately $1.1 billion in second-quarter profit, beating Wall Street expectations as electricity demand continued to grow.
“Poor, poor Duke. They’re barely scraping by on $5 billion in profits they made last year,” said Dan Crawford, senior director of public affairs for the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, at a press conference outside of the Utility Commission Expert Witness Hearing. “Clearly, they need this increase. They need us to shut up and pay the bill. I say enough is enough.”
State Rep. Maria Cervania pointed to the impact those increases have on household budgets. “Affordability is not an abstract policy debate,” Rep. Cervania said. “It is the electric bill sitting on the kitchen counter.”
Cervania also warned against shifting the costs of new data center infrastructure onto residential customers. “Families should not subsidize some of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world,” she said.
The debate over Duke’s rates is also drawing attention to politicians with financial ties to the company. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley spent years lobbying for utilities, including Duke Energy, and his family holds as much as $445,000 in Duke Energy stock. Whatley has repeatedly declined to oppose Duke’s proposed rate hikes.
As the Utilities Commission weighs Duke’s request, advocates say families should not be asked to pay higher bills simply to protect corporate profits.
“We are going to keep speaking up, watching, and making sure they’re accountable,” Cervania said. “There should never be any blank check to any corporation.”
