Ricky Junquera, ricky.junquera@sierraclub.org
SOUTH CAROLINA -- Last night, May 20th, 2024, at 5:00 pm the South Carolina Public Service Commission held a public hearing to engage the public on the Duke Energy Carolinas rate hike request. The power company is asking the state Public Service Commission to grant a rate increase beginning this Summer.
Before Monday’s final public hearing on a proposed rate change case, several groups opposing Duke Energy’s price hike and Duke Energy Carolinas filed a settlement agreement. The hearing will resume on Thursday so the commission can ask questions about the settlement terms & hear from witnesses.
If the Public Service Commission approves the rate hike with the recently announced settlement agreement the average customer would see an increase of $12.53 a month starting in August. If they do not approve the proposed settlement the rate increase could go as high as the $18 a month identified in the original application.
In response to the filing of the settlement agreement and after the final public hearing on the rate case, the new Chapter Director of Sierra Club South Carolina Montravias King released the following statement:
“Duke Energy Carolinas' (DEC) application to increase utility rates inequitably places the cost of the energy transition on the backs of South Carolinians in the upstate region who are already struggling to afford necessities. Instead of investing more in renewable energies, such as battery storage, DEC continues to be obsessed with fossil fuels. The South Carolina Sierra Club will continue to hold DEC accountable through our advocacy and campaigns, and we urge the Public Service Commission to reject the settlement agreement and protect ratepayers already overburdened by high energy costs.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.