A modernized electric grid more resistant to power outages, hundreds of miles of new power lines, environmental responsibilities, increased electric grid security and new systems for customer convenience are some of the key parts of Duke Energy’s Indiana rate request submitted to state utility regulators.
“Since our last base rate increase in 2020, we’ve invested $1.6 billion in our electric grid, power plants and overall system on behalf of our customers, including advanced technology that has helped prevent more than 185,000 power outages,” said Duke Energy Indiana President Stan Pinegar.
The request is for an overall average bill increase of approximately 16%, which will be added to bills in two steps, approximately 12% in 2025 and about 4% in 2026, if approved. The annual revenue increase is anticipated to be $492 million.
The increase will vary among consumers depending on the cost to serve different types of customers, such as residential and business. The total monthly impact of the two steps for a residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month is expected to be about 19%, or $27.63.
A regulatory decision on Duke Energy’s rates is expected in early 2025.
Duke Energy is also proposing time-of-use rates to help customers manage their electric bills. This will help customers shift some of their power use to times of day when energy is less expensive. The initiative will be voluntary for residential, commercial and industrial customers interested in participating, if the program is approved.
Duke Energy is adding state-of-the-art sensors to its Indiana power lines to not only identify power outages rapidly but also alternate energy pathways to restore service faster for customers during an outage.
The company is also hardening its system against severe weather to reduce power outages, including changing wood poles to steel, undergrounding power lines in targeted, outage-prone areas, and rebuilding miles of overhead lines.
The company is working to improve physical security and protections at some of its key infrastructure delivering power to Indiana communities due to physical attacks to the electric grid nationally.
Duke Energy expects to have more than 60,000 new residential and business customers by 2025 and is adding 345 miles of new power lines and infrastructure to serve them.
The company is closing its Indiana ash basins correctly in compliance with environmental regulations. It has installed new systems for customers to initiate service at a new location online and receive service the same day.
Duke Energy has many energy assistance and bill-lowering tools, including:
- Usage alerts sending customers a notification of electricity used and its cost to make adjustments before their billing period ends.
- Free home energy house calls for energy professionals to assess a home for efficiency and provide homeowners with a toolkit of energy saving devices.
- Budget billing, which helps ease the impact of higher seasonal bills by leveling out monthly payments.
- Interest-free payment plans for customers needing flexibility.
- Share the light program funded by Duke Energy shareholders for qualifying customers struggling to pay their energy bills.
