New rates became effective on June 1 for Duke Energy Progress customers in South Carolina based on the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) order issued May 21.
Duke Energy serves 591,000 customers in the Upstate, a region that includes Greenville and Spartanburg.
Beginning June 1, a typical residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity monthly would pay about $130.55 per month, an increase of about $8.06, or approximately 3.7%. Commercial and industrial customers can expect a 1.6% increase on average.
The changes in customer rates come after a lengthy and public process evaluating a request that included several controversial justifications such as higher top executive pay, coal-ash cleanup funding assistance, and recovery of costs associated with the company’s canceled Lee Nuclear Plant. The company’s initial request also included a flat service fee of $28 per customer. The flat fee, which is the same for everyone regardless of how much power they use, represented a tripling of the previous fee. However, the company reduced the fee request to $11.96 after strong feedback from hundreds of residential customers in Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg counties.
The company claims that the new rates reflect its efforts to deliver electricity that is cleaner than ever, and ensure the best customer service possible. Additionally, they state that the new rates reflect savings from the recent tax reform bill which featured a reduced corporate tax rate of 21 percent, down from the previous rate of 35 percent.
The final rate order can be viewed on the PSCSC website at dms.psc.sc.gov/Attachments/Order/02fbebad-5201-4917-afe8-207314b21777.