Fuel savings will decrease bills for Duke Energy Progress customers in South Carolina beginning this summer

GREENVILLE, S.C., April 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy Progress is proposing a decrease in monthly fuel costs for its South Carolina customers beginning this summer as part of an annual adjustment of the actual cost of fuel used to generate electricity at its power plants.

Duke Energy Progress serves about 169,000 customers in the northeastern part of South Carolina, including Darlington, Florence and Sumter counties.

Duke Energy Progress makes a fuel cost recovery filing annually with the PSCSC. 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. By law, the company makes no profit from the fuel component of rates.

The company made its annual fuel filing Friday, April 26. If approved by the PSCSC, the new fuel rates would go into effect July 1.

Under the proposal, typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month would see their bills decrease from the current $122.49 to $120.54, a decrease of $1.95, or 1.6 percent.

Commercial customers would see an average decrease in their bills of about 2.1 percent, and industrial customers would receive an average decrease of about 4.4 percent.

The primary reason for the proposed overall decrease in rates is a lower under-collection of fuel costs included in the 2019 proposed rates than the under-collection of fuel costs reflected in existing rates.

Duke Energy Progress works to actively manage its fuel contracts to keep fuel costs as low as possible for customers. Savings achieved from the joint dispatch of Duke Energy's generation fleet in the Carolinas also help to minimize the company's fuel costs. The PSCSC reviews fuel costs and adjusts the fuel component of customer rates accordingly.

The proposed decrease would affect the bills of all Duke Energy Progress customers in South Carolina. The company's other South Carolina utility -- Duke Energy Carolinas -- will make its annual fuel filing in July.

To help customers take control of their energy use and manage their bills, Duke Energy Progress offers energy-saving tips and innovative efficiency programs for every budget to help customers realize additional savings.

For example, the Home Energy House Call is a free in-home energy assessment, valued at $180, designed to give Duke Energy customers more information about how they use energy in their home and strategies to save money on their monthly bill.

To learn more about these programs, visit www.duke-energy.com/savings.

A separate request to increase base rates proposed in November is currently being considered by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC). The PSCSC will determine the appropriate price customers pay in base rates in the coming weeks after what has been a thorough and very transparent public review process.

Duke Energy Progress

Duke Energy Progress, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns nuclear, coal, natural gas, renewables and hydroelectric generation. That diverse fuel mix provides about 12,700 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 1.6 million customers in a 32,000-square-mile service area of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 125 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S. It employs 30,000 people and has an electric generating capacity of 51,000 megawatts through its regulated utilities, and 3,000 megawatts through its nonregulated Duke Energy Renewables unit.

Duke Energy is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing the energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves. The Electric Utilities and Infrastructure unit's regulated utilities serve approximately 7.7 million retail electric customers in six states ? North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. The Gas Utilities and Infrastructure unit distributes natural gas to more than 1.6 million customers in five states ? North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The Duke Energy Renewables unit operates wind and solar generation facilities across the U.S., as well as energy storage and microgrid projects.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2019 "World's Most Admired Companies" list, and Forbes' 2019 "America's Best Employers" list. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos, videos and other materials. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

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SOURCE Duke Energy