South Carolina Public Service Commission approves Duke Energy Progress rate request

The Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) has approved the rate review request by Duke Energy Progress.

Starting April 1, the typical residential customer in South Carolina using 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity will pay about $10.95 more per month or 8.2 percent. Commercial and industrial customers will see an average increase of around 3.7 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

The total approved increase will be approximately $52 million, which is 41 percent less than the $89 million Duke Energy Progress initially requested to recover investments to increase system reliability and resiliency.

The approval reflects an agreement between the company and consumer, environmental and industrial groups in South Carolina. Among other provisions, the agreement resolves recovery of coal ash basin closure costs, allows for continued investment in infrastructure to further modernize the grid, and establishes a reserve to help mitigate the costs to restore service after major storms.

Specifically, the agreement was reached with the Office of Regulatory Staff, the Department of Consumer Affairs, the South Carolina Energy Users Committee, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Coastal Conservation League, Vote Solar, the Sierra Club, the Department of Defense/Federal Executive Agencies, Walmart, Nucor Steel and the Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

Duke Energy Progress is a subsidiary of Duke Energy. It owns 12,500 megawatts of energy capacity and supplies electricity to 1.7 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in North Carolina and South Carolina.