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As temperatures in the Triangle soar, Duke Energy customers are noticing higher bills.
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On social media, customers claim they’re not using more energy, or that they’re trying to use less. But they still say that bills are getting higher each month, and are more expensive than this time last year.
It’s summertime. It’s hot and humid. Your air conditioning system is working harder to cool your home.
And if you ask Duke Energy, that’s the story.
“Cooling demand across North Carolina was 43% above normal by July 4 following multiple periods of extreme heat, according to federal weather data,” the Charlotte-based company wrote in an Aug. 7 news release. “For many customers, increased air-conditioning use is the primary reason energy use and bills may be higher than normal.”
But there are other factors to blame for higher bills, said Sara Heilman, clean energy strategist at NC WARN, a nonprofit that advocates for a transition to clean energy and promotes energy and climate justice.
“I think the most central thing contributing to rising electric bills is that there is a direct correlation between profit for Duke Energy executives and investors, and rising costs for North Carolinians,” Heilman said in a video interview.
Duke Energy reported $5 billion in profits last year, The News & Observer previously reported. Last week, it reported its strongest-ever second quarter (April through June), with more than $1 billion in net income.
When the utility builds new infrastructure such as a power plant or high-voltage power line, customers pay for the cost of the project, plus an additional percentage as profit, Heilman said.
“There’s this incentive for Duke to be building as much as possible, even when it’s not necessarily needed,” Heilman said.
Duke also invests in fossil fuels, which worsens the climate crisis. More energy is needed to heat or cool buildings, contributing to higher bills. Storm recovery is more expensive.
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And there are more indirect effects. As energy bills rise, customers have to find ways to cover all of their expenses, including housing, food and transportation, and they may have to cut back. According to a recent Advance America survey, 21% of North Carolina households that earn less than $49,999 per year regularly turn off their air conditioning at night to cut costs.
Extreme temperatures can also lead to health issues.
In March, the Energy and Policy Institute, an organization that says it “exposes harms posed by fossil-fuel and monopoly utility interests to (consumers) and the climate,” published a study by research and communications manager Sue Sturgis that argues that weather isn’t the only thing affecting energy bills.
The study, called “It’s not just the cold: Rate increases are driving Duke Energy bills higher,” found that even if a customer maintained their energy use month to month, they’d be paying nearly 45% more in 2025 than in 2020.
Bill increases were caused by rising fuel costs, storm recovery (from Hurricanes Florence, Michael and Helene) and base rate hikes.
And more rate increases could be coming. As of last week, Duke Energy Progress, the electric utility for Eastern North Carolina and the Asheville area, was asking for a 9.3% electric rate increase over two years. The state utilities commission is hearing from expert witnesses about the case and will likely decide on Duke’s proposal this fall.
That’s lower than the utility’s initial ask of a 15.1% rate increase, but it still means higher bills for us. The average residential customer would pay $9.62 more every month starting in January, and an additional $5.89 every month starting in 2028, Duke spokesperson Bill Norton previously told The N&O.
To reduce costs, Duke said customers should raise their thermostats to the highest comfortable setting, close blinds and curtains during the hottest times of day and avoid using heat-producing appliances such as dryers and ovens during peak afternoon hours.
The company also offers free energy assessments, which may help customers find ways to make their homes more energy efficient — installing weatherstripping or replacing air filters, for example.
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