Dive Summary:

• Duke Energy Carolinas, a unit of Duke Energy, has reached an agreement with the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS), Wal-Mart, the S.C. Energy Users Committee and the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, to significantly reduce its rate request in South Carolina.
• Duke originally south an increase of $220 million, but is now going for $118.6 million over the next two years to modernize its system and improve reliability. “The settlement includes a significant reduction in the rate increase to customers, while providing a fair return for the company's investors,” Duke says in a press release.
• Duke now awaits approval by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina opening hearings this July. If approved, Duke will not seek another base rate hike prior to September 15.

From the press release:

"If approved, this agreement will allow us to keep the rate increase to customers as low as we reasonably can, and still recover the investments we've made to modernize our system and to ensure safe, reliable and increasingly clean electricity for the future."