Instead of raising residential rates by 16.2 percent, the Raleigh utility will raise rates 11.5 percent effective Dec. 1 and collect the rest in subsequent years.
The proposal, filed today with the N.C. Utilities Commission, is subject to the commission's approval. A hearing has been set for Sept. 16 in Raleigh.
The proposal would raise the monthly bill for a residential customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity from about $97 to about $108.
Progress reached the settlement with the state's consumer advocacy agency, the Public Staff. Industrial customers also agreed.
Electric utilities are allowed by state law to pass through their cost of fuel. The primary fuels used by Progress to generate electricity are coal and uranium.
Most of the rate increase will pay for rising fuel costs, but a portion will pay for renewable energy and for chemicals used to prevent pollution at coal-burning power plants.
john.murawski@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8932
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