Flipping the Switch: Duke Energy's Billion Dollar Shakedown of Everyday Americans

When the lights are mandatory, the bill becomes a shakedown.

Duke Energy raising rates and power lines, driving costs through the roof. - Source: Unsplash

Somewhere in a boardroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, someone at Duke Energy looked at their company’s nearly $5 billion in annual profit and thought, “You know what? Not enough.” And so here we are. Again. Another rate hike. Another round of everyday North Carolinians being told to tighten their belts so that a monopoly utility can loosen theirs.

Duke Energy is asking the North Carolina Utilities Commission to approve an 18% increase in residential electric rates over the next two years. For the average customer, that works out to roughly $34 more per month by 2028, according to WRAL. That’s on top of a 22% increase in electric bills since 2020. Let me do the math for you: your power bill has gone up by nearly a quarter in six years, and Duke wants to pile on another fifth. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s what we in the business call “getting hosed.”

But don’t worry. Duke says it’s for “reliability and economic growth.” Because nothing says economic growth like forcing retirees to choose between keeping the lights on and buying their medication.

The numbers tell a story that Duke’s PR team would rather you not read. According to the Energy and Policy Institute, rate changes alone have increased the typical monthly bill by about $50 since 2020. That’s a jump of nearly 45%, and that’s before you even factor in hotter summers or colder winters driving up usage. Duke Energy Progress kept 17.4% of the revenue it collected from customers as profit in 2025. That’s not a public service. That’s a business model built on a captive audience.

And that’s really the crux of the issue, isn’t it? You don’t get to choose your power company. Unlike your cell phone provider, your internet, or where you buy your groceries, electricity in North Carolina and across the country is a monopoly. Duke provides it. You pay for it. End of discussion. There is no Verizon vs. AT&T of the power grid. There’s Duke, and there’s “sit in the dark.” Those are your options.

At a standing room only public hearing before the NC Utilities Commission in Raleigh, residents made it painfully clear what these increases mean for real people.

“For someone like me, there is no way to simply absorb an 18% increase,” said Fran Lynch, a senior living on a fixed income. “My income does not go up when Duke’s rates go up. When my bills go up, something else gets cut: medicine, groceries.”

Another resident, Rick Martin, put it even more bluntly: “That means I will have to decide what to cut out, food or medicine, for a company that makes billions. Fifteen percent doesn’t mean much, but for retirees, it’s life-changing.”

Let that sink in. Food or medicine. For a company that just posted nearly $5 billion in profit in a system without any competition. If that doesn’t make your blood boil, check your pulse.

To make matters worse, a good chunk of this rate hike is earmarked for Duke’s capital expenditures. That’s corporate speak for “we want you to pay for our infrastructure upgrades that we’ll then write off on our taxes.” Duke recently unveiled a $103 billion capital spending plan, the largest of any regulated utility in the United States, according to Utility Dive. They’re already deploying more than $1 billion in capital every single month. And guess who’s footing that bill? Spoiler alert: it’s not anyone in the boardroom.

Oh, and here’s a fun wrinkle. Industrial customers, including the data centers that are gobbling up energy at record rates, are only looking at a 12% increase over two years. Residential customers? Eighteen percent. As one resident at the hearing said, “Big data should pay their own way. We shouldn’t be footing their bill.” Hard to argue with that logic.

State Sen. Jonah Garson didn’t mince words either: “North Carolinians cannot afford a 16% to 18% rate hike on their base rates right now.” Governor Josh Stein and Attorney General Jeff Jackson have both opposed the proposed increase, according to the Charlotte Observer. At least someone in Raleigh is paying attention.

But opposition from politicians means nothing if the Utilities Commission rubber stamps this like it has in the past. This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a “regular people vs. corporate greed” issue. Your 80 year old neighbor on a fixed income doesn’t care about party lines when she’s deciding between air conditioning and her heart medication in July.

Look, I’m a capitalist. I believe in free markets, competition, and the ability to earn a profit. What I don’t believe in is a system where a monopoly with no competition can continuously raise rates on a product that people literally cannot survive without, all while posting billions in profit and spending $103 billion on projects that customers are forced to subsidize. That’s not capitalism. That’s a shakedown with a utility bill attached.

Power ranks right up there with water and the roof over our heads. These are not luxuries. These are the bare minimum requirements for survival in modern America. And when the company providing one of those essentials operates with zero competition and near total impunity, something has to give. It shouldn’t be your grocery budget.

It’s time for the North Carolina General Assembly, the Governor’s office, and the Utilities Commission to step up and do what they were put there to do: protect the people of this state. Not the shareholders. Not the lobbyists. The people who flip that switch every morning and pray the bill doesn’t break their bank.

Enough is enough. Say it with me, North Carolina. Enough. Is. Enough.