Triangle power bills could go up $20 a month if Duke Energy Progress rate requests are approved

Three weeks after Duke Energy Progress asked state officials for a 16.7 percent rate increase for residential customers, the power company is asking for an additional 2.3 percent rate hike to cover other expenses.

If approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission, the total combined requests would add $20 a month to the typical household bill, from $104.68 a month to $124.65 a month. The monthly increase is based on 1,000 kilowatt hours of usage per month, and would be larger for bigger homes and homes that are not energy-efficient, constituting one of the biggest rate jumps in the company’s history.

The N.C. Utilities Commission typically does not grant utility rate requests in full, however, and Duke Energy Progress’s requests will be subject to lengthy audits and analysis. But given the amount being sought, even a partial approval could increase residential bills by more than $100 a year.

In the latest round of requests, filed Wednesday, Progress is seeking to recover costs for fuel, such as coal and natural gas; energy-efficiency programs, which include administration, marketing and financial incentives to customers; as well as the cost of paying for renewable energy. State law allows utilities to pass these costs through to their customers as long as the utility did not spend money irresponsibly or wastefully.

The utility is also recovering the $1.25 billion it paid in 2015 to buy back full ownership of the Harris nuclear plant and other power plants from the N.C. Eastern Municipal Power Agency. The Municipal Power Agency, which supplies power to 32 North Carolina towns, had owned partial shares of Progress plants for more than three decades.

Progress is asking for reductions in how much it charges customers for energy-efficiency programs and for solar power and other renewables, but the utility is asking for increases to cover fuel and the power plant sales, for a total overall increase of 2.3 percent. The rate increase approved by the commission will be in effect by Jan. 1.

The 16.7 percent request filed three weeks ago is a separate filing that will be subject to separate proceedings at the N.C. Utilities Commission. These costs are for general operating expenses, including modernization of the company’s aging power grid, for transferring coal ash from open-air pits to lined landfills, and for general maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

The bigger rate increase could also be in place Jan. 1 if the the Utilities Commission heeds Duke Energy Progress’s request for an expedited a ruling.

Raleigh-based Duke Energy Progress, formerly known as Progress Energy, is owned by Duke Energy Corp. in Charlotte, which also owns Duke Energy Carolinas. Progress sells power in central and eastern North Carolina, as well as parts of the Asheville area. Duke Energy Carolinas sells power in the western half of the state, including Durham and Chapel Hill. The two utilities operate independently and have separate rate structures. Duke Energy Carolinas is expected to file for a rate increase this summer as well.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Triangle power bills could go up $20 a month if Duke Energy Progress rate requests are approved."