Lynne Stevens
It’s the same old story: Duke Energy increases its rates – and customers feeling helpless to do anything about it.
Duke is a legal monopoly. You must use them – and I bet you feel powerless, lick your financial wounds and pay up like we all do.
Duke is a very profitable company and has been making record profits well above the rate of inflation. In 2025, WRAL News reported a healthy Duke Energy $25 billion profit and the Energy Policy Institute reported profit margins of 15-17%.
Granted, they have the responsibility to make sure we have a stable and adequate source of electricity year-round and must be compensated properly. On that,we agree.
Part of the profit picture from Duke comes from its investments in building projects, upgrades to the grid and building to accommodate population and industrial growth in the state. Due to the nature of a monopoly operating in a non-competitive playing field – unlike most business – there is little risk to a utility stock investor.
That is why we have a Public Utilities Commission in North Carolina, which protects customers like us from being excessively charged for electricity.
Hot weather is coming soon and those air conditioners will be humming again. In February, we had a cold snap and we used more electric to heat our homes. Duke claims it had to buy power from other utilities to keep up with demand and is asking for $800 million in compensation.
My unanswered question is this: Will Duke run for rate increases every time there is a blip in the weather? The 2026 Old Farmers Almanac predicts North Carolina will be hot and dry this summer, with variations of rainfall.
Who are these Public Utilities commissioners and who puts them in office? North Carolina has recently changed laws, reducing members from seven to five. Two members are Democrats and three are Republicans. Each one is a political appointment. The commission is basically a soft-power watchdog, serving more often as a negotiator than a hard pushback.
Duke has requested that their Return on Equity be increased. That means when they build infrastructure, they get a return on it – set by the commission. The current return is 9.8% and they are asking for 10.1%. The national average is 9.76%.
Economists have argued the return rate for Duke is excessive and should be reduced – not increased. Those seemingly-minor percentage differences account for millions to investors who own Duke stock.
Who are the major stockholders in Duke and who will benefit most from rate hikes? The biggest shareholders of Duke Energy are Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors and Black Rock. The American Economic Liberties Project reports stock values with excessive permitted returns amounts to a massive transfer of wealth from captive monopoly customers like us to investors.
Are there ideas to make the North Carolina Public Utilities Commission monopoly watchdog system non-political and more robust?
There is more to explore here.
Lynne Stevens writes a bi-weekly column for The Graham Star. She can be reached via email, geminga@mailfence.com.