BY LAURA OLENIACZ

loleniacz@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM – A rate increase for Duke Energy Carolinas’ residential electricity customers in North Carolina will go into effect early next month, following an approval made Friday by the N.C. Utilities Commission.

An order from the commission, dated to Friday, said a rate increase in which no customer class will receive higher than a net total 7.21 percent increase on an annual basis is “just and reasonable to all parties.”

Duke Energy had initially filed an application for a rate increase in July, according to the order. In November, the utility agreed to a settlement with the public staff of the commission that stipulated a lower increase than what was initially requested. The public staff is an independent agency that makes recommendations about public utility rates and service on behalf of the public.

Betsy Conway, a spokeswoman for Duke Energy, said the increase will mean the typical North Carolina residential customer will see an increase of about $7 a month, based on a power usage of about 1,000 kilowatt hours per month.

The increase is expected to go into effect in early February, according to a news release from Duke Energy.

“We are pleased the NCUC has approved the settlement,” said Brett Carter, president for Duke Energy in North Carolina, in a prepared statement. “We believe the settlement balances the company’s need to recover investments made in the electric system with the reality that many of our customers face continued economic challenges.”

Carter also said in the statement that the increase is “critical” to the company’s modernization plan.

“It allows the company to maintain its strong financial position, which enables us to continue investing in a more reliable, efficient and clean electric system for our North Carolina customers,” Carter said.

The order also gave the green light on a stipulation that the utility will make a one-time $11 million shareholder payment to agencies that provide energy assistance to low-income customers in North Carolina.

According to the website www.duke-energy.com, Duke Energy has provided more than $31 million through its Share the Warmth program in heating bill assistance in the Carolinas since the program’s establishment in 1985.

Al Ripley, director for consumer and housing affairs for the N.C. Justice Center, a nonprofit that represents the interests of low-wealth people, said the utility’s efforts to help low-wealth rate payers are “simply inadequate.”

Ripley said the utility should be required to do more to assist low-wealth payers. The center was still analyzing the commission’s findings on Friday, but he also said the overall net increase of no more than 7.21 percent for all customer classes is too high “especially during such tough economic times for rate payers in North Carolina.”

In its order, the commission also responded to concern from the City of Durham about rates for street lighting. The commission’s order drew a positive response from Durham’s Senior Assistant City Attorney Sherri Zann Rosenthal.

The order asks Duke Energy officials and the public staff to meet with Durham officials and other interested municipal customers within 90 days to address street lighting issues.

“We think that it’s a very good thing because it was an exception to the commission just approving the stipulated settlement that Duke and the public staff had come to, and it’s one of the few exceptions,” Rosenthal said. “So it means that the commission feels that we have a real issue, and they’re telling the public staff and Duke Energy to meet with representatives of the city…to try to come to a settlement of the issues.”

The city’s concern was about a “much more extensive” street lighting rate schedule put into effect several years ago for any new street lights installed, Rosenthal said. The new schedule would mean that over time, cities would pay more for street lighting, Rosenthal said, adding that the new schedule’s rates were based on rates charged for any private party for outdoor lighting.

“We don’t think that makes any sense because cities have a very large number of street lights, and they keep them for very long periods of time,” Rosenthal said. “For example, the City of Durham has over 18,800 street lights that we pay Duke Energy for monthly. That’s very different than someone who has one outdoor light by their barbecue.”

Rosenthal said the city also was concerned about charges for street lights that go out. She said the utility doesn’t provide inspection or other service to ensure the lights are on and that the city is being charged for what it’s using.

“We dno’t have the money to be going around and paying our staff to be inspecting street lights at night, especially in these really tight budget times,” she said.

Conway said in an emailed response that “we look forward to meeting with the City of Durham.”