Duke Energy Carolinas reaches partial agreement with North Carolina Public Staff

Duke Energy Carolinas and the North Carolina Public Staff have reached partial settlements on various items associated with investments included in the utility’s request, along with implementation of new regulatory mechanisms. The partial settlements include agreement on many aspects of the company’s proposed revenue requirement in the case, such as capital projects, grid enhancements and related costs to be included in the three-year rate plan; cost recovery of plant-related investments to improve reliability; coal plant retirement dates to be used for depreciation rates; and Performance Incentive Mechanisms that hold Duke Energy accountable for outcomes that help customers and achieve state policy goals. “Similar to our case at Duke Energy Progress, we are pleased to achieve common ground with the Public Staff on a number of key issues and reach an agreement that prioritizes the needs of our customers, advances grid reliability and resiliency across the state, and maintains the financial health of the company,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president. The agreement would also reduce retail customer costs associated with the Duke Energy Plaza. The company’s new headquarters are facilitating a major real estate consolidation in uptown Charlotte, reducing the company’s footprint by more than 50% to save customers about $5 million annually, which is on top of the proposed savings in this settlement.