Duke announces 16 percent rate increase from July to September
Submitted
Editor’s note: The following was submitted by Citizens Action Coalition (CAC), an Indianapolis-based organization whose mission is “[t]o initiate, facilitate and coordinate citizen action directed to improving the quality of life of all inhabitants of the State of Indiana through principled advocacy of public policies to preserve democracy, conserve natural resources, protect the environment, and provide affordable access to essential human services.” Learn more at citact.org.
On April 28, Duke Energy Indiana filed its quarterly Fuel Adjustment Clause (FAC) tracker before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC). The FAC tracker is an adjustable-rate mechanism which allows the utilities to adjust the price customers pay to reflect fluctuations in the cost of fuel used, like coal and fossil gas, and the costs of any purchased power used to supply electricity to ratepayers.
The proceeding is docketed at the IURC as Cause No. 38707 FAC-132.
Duke Energy states in its filing, “The [rate] being proposed in this proceeding represents an increase of $22.59 or 16.0% over what such customer is paying today and an increase of $32.39 or 24.6% over what such customer paid for the same period last year.”
Should the IURC approve Duke’s request, the new rates would take effect in July and remain through September 2022, when another updated FAC tracker is expected.
“This is just the latest example of how expensive and risky fossil fuels like coal and fossil gas are costing families across Indiana,” said CAC Program Director Ben Inskeep. “Duke Energy has long delayed action to address the climate crisis, and now Hoosiers are paying for it through skyrocketing energy bills.”
In justifying the proposed increase, Duke Energy disclosed, “As a result of the continued volatility in the fuel markets the Company has been subjected to a significant and prolonged rise in coal, natural gas, and [wholesale power] prices between the times our projections are made and when the rates go into effect.”
Additionally, throughout the filing, Duke Energy discusses how high gas prices, coal supply, and fossil fuel transportation constraints significantly impacted how the company operated its fossil fuel thermal plants and purchased energy and fuel in the marketplace.
“Hoosier ratepayers have already been saddled with unaffordable winter heating bills,” CAC Executive Director Kerwin Olson said. “Now it appears things will not get any easier as fossil fuels continue to exacerbate the affordability crisis. This underscores the urgency for Duke Energy and all Indiana energy utilities to immediately transition to clean and renewable energy and to increase investments in energy efficiency, neither of which are subject to the regular and ongoing volatility of fuel prices and fuel-supply constraints facing coal and fossil gas.”