Duke Energy promotes new Clean Energy Connection program for low-income, residential and small business customers

Seeking to promote a more random, equitable expansion of solar power, Duke Energy Florida announced a new community effort known as Clean Energy Connection this week, inviting residential, small/medium businesses, and low-income customers to sign up.

“Our customers want affordable, clean energy options, and we believe larger-scale solar is the most cost-effective way to advance the benefits of solar on our entire system,” Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president, said. “We are proud to offer this innovative program that will give customers, especially those who may not have the ability to install solar at home, an opportunity to support renewable energy while seeing real benefits.”

As part of the program, Duke Energy customers will be able to subscribe with no obligations to install or maintain their own solar equipment. Instead, they get a share of renewable energy produced by solar plants across Florida and some bill credits for the solar energy generated by their participation. This, in turn, should lower their costs over time.

While Duke Energy invited customers to join Clean Energy Connection, participants will be selected through a randomization process on April 20, 2022. The company pitched this as a win-win, saving customers the need to get in on a first-come, first-served basis. Even after the program goes live, additional customers will have another week to register a subscription request.

A monthly subscription fee of $8.35 per kW will be applied to all participants. Duke Energy estimates that an average user of approximately 1,000 kW hours per month would need around 5 kW to cover their full usage. Bill credits are then distributed based on subscription size and the amount of solar energy produced by connected facilities each month.

Low-income customers will benefit from a guarantee of 26 MW set aside and earn assured savings each month. Meanwhile, the program will directly benefit the development and construction of additional solar power plants interconnected to the Florida power grid.