Dive Summary:
- On Monday, Duke Energy Carolinas filed a request with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to raise electricity rates by $220 million.
- The utility says it is trying to recoup money from capital investments it has already made, in particular citing the construction of a new natural gas plant and a clean-coal unit, improvements to two nuclear plants, enhancements to their tree-trimming program and federally mandated security upgrades.
- If the request receives approval from the PSCSC, rates would rise 16.3% for residential customers, 14% for commercial customers and 14.4% for industrial customers.
From the press release:
"... More than half of the request is driven by capital investments that Duke Energy Carolinas has made in the electric system that serves 540,000 households and businesses in South Carolina.
'As part of our ongoing fleet-modernization plan, we have recently built and put into service two new, state-of-the art power plants that will provide cleaner electricity and serve our customers reliably for decades to come,' said Clark Gillespy, Duke Energy's South Carolina state president. ..."
