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Duke customers could see 15-percent rate increase
The average Duke Energy residential customer could see a monthly bill increase of $23 if the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission grants Duke’s request for a rate increase.
The energy company announced Tuesday that it had asked the IURC for the increase in the interest of “generating cleaner electricity, improving the reliability of electric service, and investments to serve a growing customer base.”
“We’ve made investments to meet the needs of a customer base that has grown by more than 100,000 since our last full-scale rate review,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar. “We also have environmental responsibilities and are taking significant steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and move to a cleaner power generation mix. And we are upgrading our electric grid to improve reliability, help avoid power outages and speed service restoration when outages do occur.”
To meet these demands, Duke is looking to increase annual revenue by about $395 with the increase.
According to numbers provided by Duke, that would mean an overall average rate increase of about 15 percent across all customer groups.
If approved, the increase will be added to bills in two steps, approximately 13 percent in mid-2020 and two percent in 2021. Timing will depend on IURC action.
The increase will vary among consumers depending on the cost to serve different types of customers. If approved by the commission, the company’s typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month could expect a monthly bill increase of about $23, or approximately 77 cents per day, which includes both steps of the increase.
To help customers save on their electric bills, the company is proposing a pilot program with time-of-use rates where customers can lower their bills on high power demand days by shifting their power usage to times of day when energy is less expensive.
The company also noted that Duke Energy Indiana’s overall average electric rate is currently below state, regional and national averages and is the lowest overall electric rate average in Indiana.
The regulatory review process will include an opportunity for public comment.
In selling the increase, Duke noted that the proposed new rates would be “used to cover a range of innovations, upgrades and improvements that customers value, including investments to accommodate growth, transitioning to cleaner energy, improving reliability and reducing power outages and providing customers with more convenience.”