It feels like everything is getting more expensive these days. Groceries, gas, insurance– you name it. 

But maybe the steepest increase hitting North Carolinians has been the electric bill. 

“My monthly Duke Energy bill has increased $60-70 a month despite all the efforts we do to lower our energy consumption. I have never had to do a payment arrangement before my recent Duke Energy bills, but because the bill is so high now, I have had to enter into my first arrangement,” said one North Carolinian. 

“I’ve been unplugging everything,” said another. “I’ve been yelling at them to turn everything off. You know, ‘let’s take showers in the dark if we can.’” 

If you’re cutting back too, you’re not alone. But it can feel like no matter how much you cut back, your bill is still going up. 

It feels that way because it’s true– your electric bill is absolutely increasing. And that’s largely because Duke Energy– the electric company that serves North Carolina and sees billions of dollars in profit each year– is continuing to raise your rates. 

Since 2020, Duke Energy has raised your bill by 22%. They don’t need to be doing this– Duke Energy made $5 billion in profit last year. But as if that weren’t enough, they’re now asking state leaders to raise your bill AGAIN– this time by another 18%. 

This rate hike couldn’t come at a worse time. Duke Energy has sent roughly 10% more disconnection notices this year than the year prior. Simply put– with prices rising everywhere, it’s getting more and more difficult just to keep the lights on.

21% of your electric bill is pure profit for Duke (the national average is about 13%). Out of 110 energy companies in the country, Duke Energy ranks 8th in profit margin. You can figure out how much of your monthly bill is lining the pockets of Duke Energy shareholders here. 

Duke has been getting away with robbery. That’s barely an exaggeration– the NC Court of Appeals actually ruled last month that Duke Energy was illegally charging customers more than they should have been.  

But Duke didn’t issue refunds. Why? Because the Court of Appeals said that refunds would provide “no meaningful relief” because Duke could simply charge customers again under a newer state law. 

That law was passed by the NC General Assembly last summer, and it was an absolute gift to Duke Energy, allowing the company to continue shifting billions of dollars in costs to North Carolinians. 

Gov. Stein vetoed that bill, but the General Assembly overrode his veto. State Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall have both taken large sums of money from Duke Energy’s PAC, as have many members of the legislature.  

This is part of a broader trend we’re seeing today, one where leaders put corporate greed ahead of their constituents. They’re squeezing hard-working people tighter and tighter during tougher and tougher times. I’m angry. I’m sure you are too. 

But in these moments it’s more important than ever to remember that we can still work together to turn things around. 

My favorite quote from the No Kings protests last week came from an organizer in Sanford, who said that the beauty of speaking out, of showing up, of coming out to protest in person is “a reminder that people are good. We all just want to live, love and be in community.”

Your next opportunity to be in community with other concerned citizens could be right down the street. Public hearings for Duke Energy’s rate hikes have begun. North Carolinians have already been organizing and speaking out against the rate hikes. You can too.

These hearings run all the way through May– you can find a list of them here. It’s not too late for you to join, make your voice heard, and to see that even though the times are tough, people really are still good.