Duke Energy rate hike proposal would boost bills by 6.6% for residential customers by year end

Duke Energy Corp. said Wednesday that if its proposal to increase rates is approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), the average bill will for residential customers will increase 6.6% by Jan. 1, 2023, will rise 9.3% for commercial customers and grow 9.0% for industrial customers. If approved, the Charlotte-based utility's new fuel and renewable energy adoption rates would go into effect Sept. 1, 2022. At that time, residential rates would go up 7.9% if approved, then fall 1.2% on Jan. 1. The total monthly impact of all rate changes for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month would increase by $6.94 to $112.28. "Rising energy demand as North Carolina emerged from the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns resulted in a significant increase in fuel needs for power generation, compounded by fuel commodity prices climbing drastically in 2021 due to tight supplies," Duke Energy said in a statement. "The sharp increase in commodity prices contributed to a $245 million under-recovery across the prior year, when fuel prices climbed sharply right after the company's annual filing." Duke's stock, which rose 1.2% in afternoon trading, has gained 3.5% over the past three months, while the SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF has tacked on 2.3% and the S&P 500 has lost 3.9%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.