Reader questions details of supposed lower rates for Duke Energy customers

Dear Editor:

On Aug. 24, 2018, the Reporter published an article titled, “New electricity rate proposal approved by state regulators.”

The supposition was the lower rates “will mean 5.6 percent average rate reduction for Duke Energy Indiana customers by 2020, with most of the savings beginning in 2018.”

Looks good on paper but so far the reduction in our bill has not materialized.

For a comparison, I took the figures from our January 2018 bill, and used the rates Duke charged on our January 2019 bill. The results: In January 2018, our bill was $495.45 before sales tax. When I applied the January 2019 rates to the same KWh usages it would have cost us $524.05, an increase of $28.60.

Yes, the energy rates are lower. Duke does not reveal that the “riders” rates fluctuate mostly higher than a year ago.

Jeanne Flanders

White River Township