Public hearings on the Duke Energy rate proposal resumed Tuesday before North Carolina utility regulators. The settlement calls for an average annual increase of about 3.4% over two years. A household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month would pay about $9.62 more beginning in January 2027. Public hearings resume on a proposed two-step increase that would add about $15.51 a month for a typical 1,000-kWh household by 2028.
The same typical bill would rise by another $5.89 a month in 2028 under the proposal. The settlement includes $10 million in assistance aimed at low-income customers. The North Carolina Utilities Commission had not approved the agreement at the edition deadline. A settlement narrows disputes among participating parties but does not bind the commission until regulators issue an order.
Consumer advocates and other parties can present evidence and objections during the regulatory process. Data-center growth is part of the debate over who should pay for new generation and transmission capacity. The 1,000-kWh example is a standard comparison and does not predict the bill for a household with different usage. Utility bills also include riders, taxes and fuel-related adjustments that may change separately.
Cost allocation determines how much infrastructure expense is assigned to residential, commercial and industrial customer classes. North Carolina regulators are reviewing a negotiated Duke Energy rate plan with new customer costs, low-income assistance and unresolved questions about data-center demand. The source record distinguishes verified observations and published data from attributed institutional or political claims; where a source described a claim rather than independently proving it, this account preserves that attribution.
The commission could approve, modify or reject the settlement, and the published example does not include every possible future bill adjustment. The next dated evidence to compare is commission findings and final rates, followed by any data-center cost-allocation conditions. Those records will show which preliminary details hold, which totals change and which announced actions become operational.