CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy
Progress customers in North
Carolina don't have to look far for a deal this holiday
season. On average, customers can power their homes and lives for
less than $3.50 a day.
Effective Dec. 1, 2016, the charge
for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh)
of electricity will decrease from $110.04 to
$103.23 per month, a savings of $6.81.
Overall energy costs will decrease about 6.5 percent for
residential customers, 7.2 percent for commercial customers and 7
percent for industrial customers.
"We work around the clock to bring our customers reliable
electricity at affordable rates," said David Fountain, Duke Energy president -
North Carolina. "Through our
generation operations and fuel procurement practices, we have
delivered more than $722 million in
fuel and joint dispatch merger savings to our customers since
2012."
What's driving customer savings
Duke Energy maintains
lower fuel and fuel-related rates through expertise in operating a
diverse generation portfolio of nuclear, coal, natural gas and
hydro; efficiency improvements that led to higher capacity factors
in the nuclear fleet; and fuel procurement strategies that mitigate
volatility in supply costs.
Other key reasons for the overall decrease include:
- A decrease in the prior period true-up of fuel costs, as
compared to the prior period true-up included in the current
bill
- Total fuel costs are declining due to a drop in commodity
prices
Duke Energy Progress makes a fuel cost recovery filing annually
in North Carolina. The fuel rate
is based on the projected cost of fuel used to provide electric
service to the company's customers, plus a true-up of the prior
year's projection.
The NCUC reviews fuel costs and adjusts the fuel component of
customer rates accordingly. By law, the company makes no profit
from the fuel component of rates.
The lower rates reflect annual adjustments to charges for fuel,
compliance with the state's renewable energy portfolio standard
(REPS) and the Joint Agency Asset Rider (JAAR) as approved by the
North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC).
Saving energy and reducing demand
Additionally, Duke Energy Progress rates will adjust on
Jan. 1, 2017, due to charges related
to implementing programs to help reduce energy consumption and save
customers money on their energy bills.
Residential customers using 1,000 kWh of electricity per month
will see an increase of $1.47 per
month on their bills beginning in January, which also accounts for
a pending lower state income tax.
Energy efficiency and demand side management charges are
increasing primarily due to new program offerings, increased
customer participation and related costs, and a reduction in the
recovery period for non-residential program costs from 10 to three
years.
The net effect of all adjustments is a monthly saving of
$5.34 for the typical residential
customer. In the new year, overall customer rates will decrease
about 5.1 percent for residential customers, 6.7 percent for
commercial customers and 6.8 percent for industrial customers.
Duke Energy Progress
Duke Energy Progress owns nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas,
renewables and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix
provides about 12,900 megawatts of owned electric capacity to
approximately 1.5 million customers in a 32,000-square-mile service
area of North Carolina and
South Carolina.
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power holding companies
in the United States, supplies and
delivers electricity to approximately 7.4 million customers in the
Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately
24 million people. The company also distributes natural gas to more
than 1.5 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its commercial and international
businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable
energy portfolio.
Headquartered in Charlotte,
N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company
traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More
information about the company is available at
duke-energy.com.
The Duke Energy News Center serves as a multimedia resource for
journalists and features news releases, helpful links, photos and
videos. Hosted by Duke Energy, illumination is an online
destination for stories about remarkable people, innovations, and
community and environmental topics. It also offers glimpses into
the past and insights into the future of energy.
Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and
Facebook.
Contact: Meredith Archie
Office: 919.546.2109 | 24-Hour: 800.559.3853
Twitter: @DE_MeredithA
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SOURCE Duke Energy