Consumer Reports calls on the NCUC to curb excessive rate increases from Duke Energy and protect ratepayers during the AI data center boom
Raleigh, NC – Consumer Reports today submitted more than 3,700 petition signatures from members living in North Carolina asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) to reject Duke Energy’s request for an 18% rate increase.
Since starting this petition, one of Duke Energy’s two subsidiaries in the state, Duke Energy Carolinas, has lowered their rate increase request to only 9.5% over the next 2 years and the other has committed to reaching a similar agreement. While that is an important move in the right direction, Consumer Reports submitted a letter to the NCUC telling them that the proposed reduction in the rate hike was not enough.
CR recently profiled individual consumers detailing how skyrocketing electricity bills are straining everyday households in North Carolina and throughout the country.
“Electricity bills are rising far too fast in North Carolina and across the country. At the same time, utility companies are posting record profits and their executives are raking in millions in compensation,” said Chris Harto, manager, sustainability advocacy at Consumer Reports. “While utilities need to make important investments to replace aging infrastructure, maintain reliability, and modernize the grid, more needs to be done to balance utility profits and customer affordability.”
At issue in this rate case is the high rate of profit for the regulated monopoly utility’s two NC subsidiaries. Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress are two of the most profitable utilities in the country with 22% and 17% of customer bills going directly to company profits respectively. In addition to excessively high profits, CR also has concerns that residential customers may be asked to partially pay for infrastructure that is being built to meet potential future data center demand in the state. A Consumer Reports nationally representative survey of 2,146 US adults in November 2025 found that 78% of Americans were least somewhat concerned that new data center development will increase their household electricity bills.
Along with the letter and petition, CR also submitted 21 personal stories from members in North Carolina struggling with their rising electricity bills, including this account:
“My partner and I are retired and live on fixed incomes. We have conscientiously worked to minimize our power consumption for many years,” said Andrew Hefner, a Consumer Reports member from Durham, North Carolina. “We replace lighting and appliances with more efficient versions when affordable. We insulate and seal where affordable. We participate in the peak load reduction program. We run appliances during off peak hours when possible. In short, we do everything that Duke Power asks us to do. Yet even though we have reduced our total energy consumption year after year, our bill has increased year after year.”
CR’s work in North Carolina is part of a broader energy affordability initiative, which is mobilizing consumers nationwide to advocate for fair utility policies as electricity costs continue to rise. Through petitions, consumer storytelling, research, and policy advocacy, CR is working to ensure that households—not just utilities and the technology industry—have a meaningful voice in decisions that determine who pays for America’s rapidly expanding electric grid.
As utilities across the country seek approval for billions of dollars in new infrastructure investments, CR is expanding its work with consumers, policymakers, and advocates in multiple states to promote affordable electricity, fair cost allocation, and greater accountability in utility and data center regulation.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org