Duke’s fixation on dirty energy is costing you

When an unusual heat wave hit North Carolina on September 18, millions of residents turned on the AC to escape the high temperatures. This unexpected demand strained the electric grid, jeopardizing the ability of homes and businesses to keep power on and stay safe. In a warming world with increasingly extreme weather, the lesson is clear: we need more affordable energy to ensure that everyone has year-round access to electricity.

But according to Duke Energy, the state’s largest utility, it’s ratepayers who have to fix this problem.

During the heat wave, Duke asked its 3.9 million North Carolina customers to reduce their electricity use from 2 – 8 p.m. to ease the strain on the electric grid. At the hottest point in the day, Duke wanted families to turn up the heat and limit oven use. Similarly, during Winter Storm Fern, Duke asked customers to set the thermostat to the coldest comfortable setting and avoid using appliances.

The point is not that we should never moderate our electricity use for the common good. The point is that this demand is coming from a monopoly utility that controls electricity for almost four million people. A utility that has abandoned renewable energy projects that would bring affordable, reliable power to our grid and prevent situations like these from happening. A utility that wants to raise electricity prices by 9.5%, lock North Carolina into decades of expensive, dirty energy projects, and shift your money into the pockets of its CEO and shareholders.

As it actively courts new power-hungry data centers, Duke is asking you to sacrifice your electricity needs, all while increasing your bills. And the reason you’re being asked to live with less is Duke’s commitment to dirty energy.

Last year, Duke slashed its planned solar capacity by over 50% (earlier this year, regulators froze the smaller plans entirely). In June, Duke accepted a $129 million buyout from the Trump administration to scrap an offshore wind project that could have powered 300,000 homes annually and sheltered customers from fossil fuel price volatility. Meanwhile, Duke is doubling down on dirty energy: Duke delayed three North Carolina coal plant retirements and has the second-most planned gas capacity nationally.

These decisions will make energy more expensive for North Carolina families and small businesses while Duke reaps the profits. A renewable-heavy energy portfolio would save North Carolinians between $4.5 and $8 billion. Solar and wind power are the cheapest ways to produce electricity and the quickest types of power to bring online, meaning they’re the best solutions to address rising energy needs. Coal and gas, meanwhile, are volatile fuel sources, subject to price shocks from external factors like geopolitical conflicts and extreme weather that send monthly bills soaring. Pipeline, storage, and processing infrastructure make gas plants particularly expensive. Conveniently for Duke, this allows them to raise rates for customers and reward their shareholders and executives due to state-sanctioned return on capital investments.

These costs aren’t an oversight: locking North Carolina into decades of expensive fossil fuel projects allows Duke to justify endless rate hikes, all while they make record profits. It’s why they are demanding a 9.5% rate increase despite posting billions of dollars in profits already this year, and paying their CEOs $22 million last year.

By prioritizing profits over affordability, Duke is jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of its customers. The biggest threat to reliable electricity isn’t keeping the thermostat too low on a hot day: it’s Duke. Last year, Duke disconnected customers 187,000 times, a 37% increase from 2024. One in five Duke customers in North Carolina are indebted to the utility, a number that could grow if they raise rates even higher.

Thankfully, people are fighting back. Duke initially proposed raising electricity rates by 18%, only to reduce the proposal after intense backlash (Attorney General Jackson continues to fight the 9.5% proposed increase). On September 18, regulators rejected Duke’s proposal to build a new gas power plant over cost concerns. These decisions only happened because advocates and ratepayers sounded the alarm. For the sake of affordable, reliable electricity, we must continue holding Duke accountable for its dirty, expensive energy agenda.

Mikaela Curry is Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign Manager based in North Carolina. Tyson Slocum is the director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program.