Last week we published a series of blogs sharing stories from Duke Energy customers across the state who are concerned about the utility’s proposal to triple the mandatory, fixed monthly fee on customers’ electricity bills from $8-9/month up to $28-29/month.
You can read a few of the more than hundred stories we’ve received in an excerpt of the first blog below or read each of the three blogs here: (1) Unaffordable Fee Increase, (2) Fee Increase & Corporate Accountability, and (3) Fee Increase that Takes Away Customer Control.
Here’s What Customers Say About Duke’s Unaffordable Fee IncreaseChris Carnevale | March 5, 2019 | Energy Justice, South Carolina, Utilities Duke Energy is proposing to triple the hidden, mandatory monthly fee on South Carolina customers’ electricity bills, from the current $8-9 per month all the way up to $28-29 per month. If Duke gets approval, customers would owe at least $336 per year before even flipping on a light. That’s the highest mandatory, monthly fee of any investor-owned utility in the nation, and it means customers would pay more for using less energy. Since the fee hike would take away customers’ ability to lower bills by saving energy, it would disproportionately harm low-usage customers, including seniors, low-income families, and families who use solar or energy efficiency. But this proposal is not a done deal yet. Before going into effect, the proposed fee hike must be approved by the SC Public Service Commission (PSC), which means it can be defeated if we speak up loudly in opposition! The PSC has scheduled five public hearings throughout Duke’s service territory over the next several weeks to hear directly from customers. We couldn’t wait until the hearings to help highlight customers’ stories about how the fee hike would impact them and why they are opposed. Below are some of the stories from Duke customers we have heard from. If you are a customer and would like to share your story as well, please fill out the form here. And if you want to take it to the next level, please make sure to show up to your local public hearing (details here) and raise your voice and let the PSC know that customers need to be able to take control of their bills!
Read more from this blog and the others in the series here: (1) Unaffordable Fee Increase, (2) Fee Increase & Corporate Accountability, and (3) Fee Increase that Takes Away Customer Control. |
###
About Southern Alliance for Clean Energy |