LUMBERTON — Numerous Duke Energy customers made their voices heard Tuesday in opposition to the company’s proposed rate increase in a public hearing held by the N.C. Utilities Commission (NCUC).
Those who testified consistently said that bills have increased significantly in recent years, or as recently as within the last couple of months, even before a base rate hike takes effect.
The majority of the speakers reside in Robeson County, according to their testimony. Some are Duke Energy customers, others get power from Duke Energy through a provider such as Lumbee River EMC or the City of Lumberton.
“Duke gets over $5 billion in profit,” said Sandra McCallum, of Maxton, who is a caregiver for her elderly parents and pays their bills, including Duke Energy. “Why are they going to take money, charge us for these charges, and they’re making a big profit and causing my parents to suffer. Something needs to be done. And then they want an increase? If anything, they need a freeze-crease.”
Duke’s large profits became one of the recurring themes throughout the hearing, with speakers asking how the company can make billions in profits but continue to increase bills for its customers.
“On y’all’s bills, you put on here the amount that you’re supposed to pay, then you have another space of ‘will you help somebody else as a gift,’” said Everest Brickhouse, of St. Pauls. “I say to Duke tonight, with the money that y’all have, can you be a help to somebody else in the community?”
Another recurring theme was that the elderly or those with health concerns are often hit the hardest by rising utility bills.
“A lot of senior citizens don’t understand where all this money is going,” said Ladaris Jefferson, of Raeford. “They don’t understand why they have to take money from Peter to give to Paul. They don’t understand why they have to choose whether they’re going to eat or whether they’re going to drink or whether they’re going to drive, not drive, or pay the light bill or food to eat.”
“At this rate, I’m forced to choose between health and heat,” said Christina Davis McCoy, of Raeford, who is battling cancer. “Reality is, I have no other choice, because of the monopoly hold that Duke Energy has on power options. It is egregious that providers are being enriched while consumers are being impoverished.”
Felicia Bethea, a Maxton preschool teacher on a tight income, said her and her two children all have asthma, giving emotional testimony about the hardships of increasing bills.
“We depend on constant reliability and affordable electricity to run … nebulizer machines and to keep our home at a stable temperature to prevent asthma attacks,” Bethea said. “Recently my Duke bills have become a source of daily and monthly anxiety, rather than just a utility.”
Kathy Hunt, of Lumberton, speaking on behalf of the nonprofit Resourceful Connections, described that people need electricity to run their oxygen, or to refrigerate their insulin, and said that her organization has dealt with clients who didn’t run their heat during the coldest days of winter, or their air conditioning on the hottest days of summer, because they’re afraid of what their bill will be.
The proposed rate increase, for 2027-28, would result in a net increase in basic utility rates of $401 million over a period of two years, split among Duke Energy’s approximately 1.6 million statewide customers.
According to N.C. Utilities Commission documents, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month of electricity would see an increase of approximately $28.06 per month in the first year of the rate increase, and an additional increase of $6.59 in the second year.
Documents state that in the event the Commission does not approve Duke Energy’s rate proposal, a typical customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours will see an increase of approximately $23.58 per month under existing rate components.
Mac Legerton, of Pembroke, testified that NCUC has approved 12 rate hikes for Duke Energy between 2020 and 2026 — four base-rate increases, six for rising fuel costs and two for storm recovery — citing a report from the Energy and Policy Institute. Overall, rates have increased by 45% since 2020, he said, per the report.
He said that Duke Energy’s rising use of natural gas is the cause of these increases. He also cited an N.C. State University study which says Duke Energy’s “rising dependency” on natural gas will cost ratepayers up to $23 billion through the year 2050.
“The price of natural gas has skyrocketed, due to the national energy policy focusing on exporting it and increasing its demand,” Legerton said. “Duke is producing electricity in the most expensive way, rather than using a least-cost approach by engaging all 100 counties in public-private partnerships to expand use of solar with long-term battery storage, microgrids and thermal energy. Ratepayers should not be punished with high rate hikes due to the bad business decisions of Duke Energy.”
Sallie McLean, of Maxton, reiterated Legerton’s points about fuel costs, and also said that Duke Energy is charging customers to pay for infrastructural projects before they even begin.
“This blank-check approach is bad business for us, and enables Duke to not worry about saving money and cutting costs. This leads to cost overruns and projects that often are not completed.”
Multiple speakers also suggested that the NCUC should delay any decision on a rate increase until the impact of the recently-approved merger between Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas becomes more clear.
Janet Menzak, of Fayetteville, said that the rapid increase in the number of data centers being built across the country is also a factor in rising energy costs, as additional infrastructure is added to the grid and costs are passed onto consumers, she said.
“This commission is supposed to be protecting consumers from companies with privatized profits that has nothing to do with us. We don’t see any of the profits from Duke Energy, we don’t see any of the profits from these data centers, we don’t see any of the profits from AI,” Menzak said. “Privatized profits, socialized debts — that is not what should be happening here. There is no reason for these energy hikes to be so high, and it’s happening all over this country.”
Floyd McKissick, the NCUC commissioner who presided over the hearing, told The Robesonian that data centers are required to pay the costs for their significant power use.
Emily Tucker, a Duke Energy district manager, gave a statement during Tuesday’s hearing to explain Duke Energy’s reasons for requesting a rate increase from the NCUC.
“Our region is experiencing significant growth, requiring the modernization of our infrastructure to meet evolving demands. Therefore, we are undertaking essential upgrades to enhance reliability, including substantial local investments in places like Robeson County,” Tucker said, noting that three substations in Robeson County will be rebuilt in the coming years. “People want to live and work here, and the investments we propose are designed to protect reliability, while keeping costs as low as possible for our customers.”
Of the 14 people who gave testimony, just one was in favor of Duke Energy. Gene McLaurin, the chairman of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, who resides in Rockingham, praised Duke Energy’s role in the state’s overall economic development and success.
The NCUC will hold an evidentiary hearing beginning on Aug. 11 in Raleigh, which McKissick said could last for a couple of weeks or more, to hear all evidence and testimony from both Duke Energy and consumers regarding the proposed rate increase. Following that hearing, the commission will decide whether to approve the rate hike; they could decide to approve the hike in full as proposed, to approve a partial increase or to deny it.
Three of the five members of the NCUC — McKissick, Tommy Tucker and Donald van der Vaart — were present at Tuesday’s hearing. Transcripts of the testimony given in Tuesday’s hearing will be available to the commissioners as part of the record ahead of the August evidentiary hearings.
Tuesday’s hearing was one of five regional hearings being held across the state, which run through the next couple of weeks. A virtual hearing was also held on Wednesday.
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