Duke Energy : Progress customers in North Carolina will see bills go down in December

• Typical residential customer's monthly bill will drop nearly 4%

RALEIGH, N.C. - Duke Energy Progress customers in North Carolina will see more than $4 in savings on their monthly energy bills beginning in December due to the combined impact of annual rate adjustments.

Overall, energy costs will decrease 3.9% for residential customers, 3.6% for commercial customers and 2.3% for industrial customers.

The total monthly impact for a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month will be a decrease of $4.59 - from $116.87 to $112.28.

The lower rates, as approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission, are a result of annual adjustments for costs related to fuel used to generate electricity at power plants.

These annual adjustment also reflect compliance with the state's renewable energy portfolio standard, cost recovery under the Joint Agency Asset Rider, and implementation of the competitive procurement of renewable energy statute.

Rates will also adjust slightly in January to incorporate costs associated with implementation of energy efficiency and demand-side management programs.

Duke Energy Progress serves about 1.4 million customers in central and eastern North Carolina and in the Asheville region.

More help for customers

Duke Energy Progress continues to provide assistance to residential and business customers whose accounts have fallen behind due to illness or lost wages.

Support for these efforts includes:

• The added convenience for customers to choose an extended payment arrangement that meets their needs online, anytime. Click here for more information.
  
• Duke Energy Progress customers who need additional assistance can visit the Energy Neighbor Fund website to learn how community agencies can help pay energy bills. In addition, 211.org is a division of United Way that helps connect customers with available financial support. You can visit the site online, or simply dial 211.
  
• Resources are available here for small business customers as they are reopening, from financial assistance to billing and payment options to professional guidance to manage their energy usage.

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 150 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 2020 '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.

Media contact: Meredith Archie
800.559.3853