To: The North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), Governor Josh Stein, Attorney General Jeff Jackson, and Elected Public Officials representing the Research Triangle Region, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and central North Carolina.

 

From: Concerned Residents, Homeowners, and Ratepayers of Raleigh, Durham, and Surrounding North Carolina Communities.

Subject: Demand for Accountability, Transparency, and the Rejection of Unreasonable Rate Hikes by Duke Energy

 

We, the undersigned residents of the Triangle and North Carolina ratepayers, write to formally voice our fierce opposition to the continuous, compounding utility rate increases requested and implemented by Duke Energy. Following multi-year rate increases that squeezed household budgets through 2025, Duke Energy has proposed double-digit base rate hikes that threaten to increase residential electric bills by an average of 15.8% to 18.5% over the next two years. Furthermore, Duke Energy has filed an additional request to recoup over $800 million from consumers to cover emergency fuel costs and purchased power from recent winter cold snaps.  

 

At a time when families, seniors on fixed incomes, and working professionals in Raleigh and Durham are already battling the high costs of housing, groceries, and systemic inflation, electricity is a basic necessity—not a luxury. We refuse to bear the financial burden of volatile fossil fuel dependencies and corporate profit padding while Duke Energy continues to post substantial returns.  

Therefore, we call upon our public officials and the North Carolina Utilities Commission to hold Duke Energy accountable by enacting the following measures:

 

1 Reject the Proposed 2027–2028 Base Rate Hikes: Stop the requested 15% to 18% increases, which would add an estimated $20 to $30 or more to standard monthly residential bills, deeply straining household budgets across the Triangle.  

 

2 Deny the Shift of Emergency Fuel Costs to Ratepayers: Block the effort to pass the $800 million cold-snap fuel cost adjustment onto regular consumers. Ratepayers should not serve as an unconditional financial backstop for volatile fossil fuel markets and grid vulnerabilities.

 

3 Mandate Full Transparency and an Independent Audit: Order a comprehensive, independent audit of Duke Energy’s billing practices, infrastructure expenses, and cost-allocation mechanisms. The public deserves absolute transparency regarding how much of these rate hikes are driven by real infrastructure upgrades versus corporate profits and requested increases to Return on Equity (ROE).

 

4 Protect Residential Consumers from Artificial Demand Drivers: Ensure that the massive infrastructure costs required to power commercial data centers and advanced manufacturing are paid for by those specific industrial entities, rather than being subsidized through the utility bills of everyday North Carolina residents.