SC Regulators Approve Proposals That Duke Energy Says Improve Reliability, Reduce Hurricane Helene Cost Impact on Customer Bills

Beginning in January, Duke Energy will implement changes to customer bills that reflect, company officials said, investments made to recover from the historic damage from Hurricane Helene, strengthen the grid against storms and outages, maintain and upgrade its power generating fleet, and serve a growing customer base while supporting economic growth in South Carolina.

"Duke Energy is committed to meeting the expectations our customers have around reliability, responsiveness and value – striking the right balance that delivers these at the lowest possible cost for customers," said Tim Pearson, Duke Energy's South Carolina president. "That means investing in what matters, delivering results efficiently, and remaining transparent about what customers are paying for and why."

The Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) recently approved these updates for customers of Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) and Duke Energy Progress (DEP), the company's two utilities in the state.

Recovering from Helene: Securitization – selling low-interest, long-term bonds – is one way, the officials said, Duke Energy can generate savings and keep costs lower for customers while also recovering large and unexpected expenses like those that resulted from Hurricane Helene.

The PSCSC recently approved a securitization plan that company officials said will save DEC customers more than $140 million on Helene expenses.

Beginning in January, a typical residential DEC customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month will see a new storm charge on bills reflecting a 3.2 percent increase, or $4.58.

Company officials said this increase still delivers 20 percent savings for customers over the recovery period compared to traditional cost recovery methods.

Powering growth, driving reliability: The officials said Duke Energy has made investments in upgrades to strengthen the grid, improve reliability and storm resilience, and maintain and upgrade its generation fleet.

These investments are already in place and delivering benefits to South Carolina, from faster restoration times to improved reliability and operational efficiency, the officials said.

For example, as part of ongoing grid upgrades, Duke Energy said it has nearly tripled the number of South Carolina customers served by self-healing technology over the past two years, with more than 70 percent of customers now benefiting from this innovative automated power restoration tool.

To better serve customers when power outages occur, Duke Energy uses smart, self-healing technology that can automatically detect power outages and quickly reroute power to restore service faster or avoid the outage altogether.

"Meeting the needs of our customers means prioritizing investments that enhance the grid while also minimizing the cost impact for customers," Pearson said. "For example, Duke Energy's nuclear units are expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of annual tax credits in the coming years – savings that will be passed to our customers beginning in 2026."

Bottom line: The PSCSC recently approved comprehensive agreements between diverse groups of stakeholders that will apply these tax credits to bills and include shareholder-funded contributions to residential customers, helping mitigate the impacts of recent infrastructure investments on customer bills over the next two years, the officials said.

DEP: Beginning Feb. 1, monthly electric bills for typical DEP residential customers using 1,000 kWh per month will increase about $11.20 a month – from $153.82 per month to $165.02.

DEC: Beginning March 1, monthly electric bills for typical DEC residential customers using 1,000 kWh per month will increase about $0.84 a month – from $148.02 per month to $148.86 (this includes the securitization charge previously mentioned).

DEC serves about 680,000 households and businesses primarily in Upstate and north central South Carolina, including Greenville, Anderson and York counties, while DEP serves about 177,000 customers in the Pee Dee region and northeastern South Carolina, including Sumter, Florence and Darlington counties.

If approved by regulators in 2026, the proposed combination of the two utilities would save customers in the Carolinas more than $1 billion in future costs, company officials said.

Helping customers manage costs: Across the Carolinas, Duke Energy's energy efficiency programs deliver annual savings 150 percent better than the national average, company officials said.

In South Carolina, the company recently increased the incentives of many of these programs, expanding ways customers can save money.

Duke Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 20,800 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 2.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 24,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 13,800 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.8 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 28,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.