State regulators are still deliberating on Duke Energy’s rate-hike request for next year. But many of the utility's financially most vulnerable customers may experience a second shock on top of higher rates as a little-known pilot program expires.
The Duke Energy Customer Assistance pilot program will wrap up at the end of this year. It gave income-eligible households a $42 monthly credit toward their energy bills. Roughly43,000 customers participated in the program last year, although they might not have realized it without a detailed look at their bills.
“Most people don’t even know that they’re getting it if they’re getting it,” said Shelly Biby, who works for Crisis Assistance Ministry in Charlotte. “We would look at people’s bills and go, ‘Oh, you’re actually already getting that [$42] off.’”
Simone Fisher is one of those people. She’s a driver for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools who’s looking for work during the summer off-season. When she came to Crisis Assistance Ministry for utility bill assistance last Thursday, she learned she had been receiving CAP funds.
“I had no idea,” she said, flipping through the pages of last month’s statement. The bill credit was tucked in-between other riders and line items on page three. Households that qualify for state-administered energy assistance programs, such as Low-Income Energy Assistance or the Crisis Intervention Program, were automatically enrolled.
“We communicate with participating customers through email, text messages, direct mail and bill messaging to help them understand their benefits and program status,” a Duke Energy spokesperson said in a written statement to WFAE.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission questioned Duke executives on the program during last week’s regulatory hearings in Raleigh.
“Has there been any thought given to trying to help that targeted population that has benefited over the last three years?” Commissioner Floyd McKissick Jr. asked.
Jacob Colley, Duke Energy’s director of vulnerable customer support, responded that the utility had a plan to inform customers that the credits would expire and to warn them to budget accordingly. In a written statement, a Duke Energy spokesperson said, “There are no changes today to Duke Energy’s Customer Assistance Program (CAP). Customers who are enrolled and eligible for the program will continue receiving credits through December 2026, when the three-year pilot is scheduled to conclude.”
If Duke’s updated rate hike request is approved, those customers would not only lose the $42 credit but also face a 7.5% increase to their current electric bills, based on a recent statement from the utility.
The Customer Assistance Program cost $33 million to implement and maintain over its first two years, despite providing only $600,000 to participants. Senior Attorney David Neil with the Southern Environmental Law Center said those customers were also directed toward weatherization assistance programs, which, if taken advantage of, would have reduced their overall cost to the system — a savings that Duke did not reflect in its cost estimates.
North Carolina Utilities Commissioner Tommy Tucker suggested applying a share of the company’s dividends to pay for the program, rather than recovering the cost from other ratepayers. In 2025, the utility earned $4.6 billion in profits across its multi-state territory.
State regulators could order Duke to continue the program past 2026.
Duke Energy says the average utility bill for their customers is approximately $156, and the average customer might see a $9.39 increase starting next year. But Crisis Assistance Ministry, which helps some of the most financially at-risk pay down their electric bills, serves many people whose bills are at least double Duke’s average.
Fisher is a good example. She said her monthly bill for her three-bedroom apartment ranges from $200 to $300, which means the rate hike will hit her harder than the utility’s average customer.
“It’s going to cause me — and anybody else who’s paying Duke [...] — to look for other income to help them with their high utility bills,” Fisher said.
