Duke Energy plans to raise electric service rates by nearly 6.5% over three years.
Duke requested the proposed rate hikes in an application filed in April with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Public hearings in Cincinnati were held on Sept. 9 and now PUCO is hearing evidence.
The company tells WCPO the rates would increase over three years. By the end of that period, your bill would amount to a flat rate increase of about $11.27 more per month or about $135 more yearly.
"The Electric Security Plan that Duke Energy has proposed represents our strategy for ensuring that we can continue to provide reliable service to customers at the lowest possible cost," said Jeff Brooks, a Duke Energy spokesperson. "And also prepare our grid for the energy opportunities that lie ahead."
If approved, the increase will start in Ohio on June 1, 2025, and gradually increase through May 31, 2028. Due to Northern Kentucky having a different regulation process, this particular rate increase structure would not include that are of the Tri-State.
"The ESP, or the Electric Security Plan, compromises a few major components one of them is infrastructure improvements," Brooks said. "So this would primarily be funding for the upgrade to the West End Substation so we can continue to ensure reliability around the region."
The ESP also includes:
- funding for Duke Energy's Battery Storage Project,
- Duke Energy's solar for all program for low income & disadvantaged customers, and
- a one time bill credit up to $300 for qualifying senior citizens.
Duke had previously hit homeowners with a rate hike in June 2023, raising its generation fee from $0.06 per kilowatt hour to $.10. For longtime customer Donna Eubanks, another jump in her bill is alarming.
"First off, they're already high, so to raise rates, that's going to make it hard for people that don't already have it," Eubanks said. "I work at a hotel, you feel me? My gas and lights already (like $300-something)."
The Ohio Consumers Counsel (OCC), which opposes the rate increase, tells WCPO the latest ask for three years of increased rates is part of too many compounding increases in recent years.
"I don't know about you, but I don't have an extra $135 lying around because we're all dealing with inflation," OCC Spokesperson J.P. Blackwood said. “[Another] $23 million rate hike hit consumers bills in 2023. It just seems like it’s been hit after, after hit, after hit to consumers wallets.”
For Duke Energy customer David Moody, this latest increase proposal while "future-focused," is timed terribly.
"They kind of have the monopoly on the energy business," Moody said. "So I want to see tangible steps on how this is going to impact the community."
Public hearings are over but customers can still have their voices heard. You can submit comments that will be submitted for Ohio's Public Utilities Commission to consider by visiting the Ohio Consumers' Counsel website.
Customers can shop for alternatives to Duke-provided electricity on the Energy Choice Ohio site. However, third-party suppliers, like Cincinnati Gas & Electric often sign customers up for lower rates before increasing them over time.
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