Regulators have given final approval to rate increases that begin June 1 for customers of Duke Energy's two North Carolina divisions.
, which covers most of western North Carolina including Charlotte, will rise an average of 0.7%. That's less than $2 a month for a typical household using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.
Rates will rise an average of 4.7% on June 1 for customers of , which serves the Asheville area and most of eastern North Carolina. The monthly bill for a typical customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours will increase by just over $6 over the next two years.
Commercial and industrial customers would see smaller percentage increases.
Duke says that rates are not rising as quickly as they might have because of excess income taxes it charged customers and is now refunding. The company says the refunds will continue for five years. After two years and five years, rates will go higher.
Regulators approved Duke's rate requests earlier this year, along with settlement agreements with various groups. Those settlements reduced what Duke originally requested.
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