Duke Made $2.6 Billion. Your Bill Is Still Going Up. | CLT Daily

Description

Duke Energy — headquartered right here on Tryon Street — told investors it earned $2.6 billion in the first half of this year, up 11%. In November, state regulators decide a rate case that raises residential bills anyway: 5.9% next year, 3.6% the year after, about $6.53 a month. Duke did come down from its original ask, and we say so. But there's a phrase missing from the settlement — "large load tariff" — and once you know what it means, three separate stories from the past two weeks start to look like one. Plus: Charlotte FC dismantles Liga MX runner-up Pumas UNAM 3-0, Roof Above a month after the roof came down, and a new CEO at the library.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WFAE, WUNC, Charlotte FC, NC Utilities Commission.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Hang on. Before the headlines, Charlotte FC did something last night that nobody outside this city saw coming, and there are two more chances to watch it happen. I'll tell you when at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Wednesday, August 5th. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, the company headquartered on Tryon Street made $2.6 billion in six months, and your power bill is still going up. Here are the numbers Duke Energy gave investors yesterday. $2.6 billion in profit for the first half of this year, up 11% from a year ago. And in November, the North Carolina Utilities Commission decides whether to approve a rate increase Duke has been asking for since last year. Now, to be fair, and this matters, Duke came down. In a July settlement, it cut its request roughly in half. It had asked to earn a 10.95% return. It settled at 9.8%, which is below what it earns today. And there's $10 million in shareholder money going to low-income bill assistance. But residential rates still go up. 5.9% next year, another 3.6% the year after. About $6.53 on the average monthly bill. $6.50 a month is not a catastrophe. It's also not nothing in a city where we talked Monday about people who can't get a landlord to install an air conditioner. The attorney general's office and consumer advocates are still pushing for lower. And Michelle Carter of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, whose group backed the deal, pointed out that Duke asked for twice what it settled for and that the settlement has no large load tariff. Hold on to that phrase. Large load tariff. It's the mechanism that would make the very biggest power users pay their own way. It isn't in there. Here's why that matters. And this is the part I haven't seen anyone else connect. On the same earnings call, Duke told investors it has contracted 7.8 gigawatts of new data center capacity since last year, and it's aiming for 15.4 gigawatts by next year. New natural gas plants in Catawba and Person counties come online in 2028. timed, the company says, to when hyperscale data center demand ramps up. Now, put that next to yesterday's story. Charlotte's data center moratorium hit its halfway point. City staff's recommendation so far, more site assessments, more community engagement. So the city is studying whether to let data centers in. The utility is already building the power plants for them. And the rate settlement that decides who pays for those plants has no mechanism to make the data centers carry their share. I'm not saying those three facts add up to a scandal. I'm saying they're all true. They all happened inside two weeks. And nobody has put them in the same sentence. The commission decides in November. That's the room. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Charlotte FC beat Pumas U-Nam 3-0 last night at Bank of America Stadium. And understand who that was. Pumas finished second in Liga MX last season. Brant Bronico opened it in the 27th minute. Archie Goodwin headed in a David Schnegg cross five minutes after the break. Tiger Smalls finished it from the penalty spot. 3-0 over one of the best teams in Mexico is the biggest statement this club has made in a while. A month ago, heavy rain collapsed the roof at Roof Above's day center uptown. The building with the meals, the showers, the laundry. They never closed. Within eight hours, they had an outdoor lunch station running. Since then, a non-profit called Hope Vibes has parked a mobile shower and laundry truck there every week, and the library restarted its mobile visits. Repairs run through December. They still want volunteers to serve meals. And the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library has a new chief executive, Angie Myers, who was the system's finance director, now permanent. Now, Quinnen has promised, Charlotte FC hosts... Atlas FC on Friday at 7.30, then Pachuca next Tuesday. Same building, same League's Cup run. If last night was any indication, go. And if music's more your speed, Chance Pena is at the Fillmore tonight, the Fray plays Skyla on Friday, and Brian Adams brings Pat Benatar to the Spectrum Center on Saturday. That's CLT Daily for Wednesday, August 5th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

Description

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: WFAE, WUNC, Charlotte FC, NC Utilities Commission.

Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Transcription

Speaker #0
Hang on. Before the headlines, Charlotte FC did something last night that nobody outside this city saw coming, and there are two more chances to watch it happen. I'll tell you when at the end of the show. But first, this is CLT Daily. I'm Steve Baboulis. It's Wednesday, August 5th. Your independent daily briefing for the Queen City. Today, the company headquartered on Tryon Street made $2.6 billion in six months, and your power bill is still going up. Here are the numbers Duke Energy gave investors yesterday. $2.6 billion in profit for the first half of this year, up 11% from a year ago. And in November, the North Carolina Utilities Commission decides whether to approve a rate increase Duke has been asking for since last year. Now, to be fair, and this matters, Duke came down. In a July settlement, it cut its request roughly in half. It had asked to earn a 10.95% return. It settled at 9.8%, which is below what it earns today. And there's $10 million in shareholder money going to low-income bill assistance. But residential rates still go up. 5.9% next year, another 3.6% the year after. About $6.53 on the average monthly bill. $6.50 a month is not a catastrophe. It's also not nothing in a city where we talked Monday about people who can't get a landlord to install an air conditioner. The attorney general's office and consumer advocates are still pushing for lower. And Michelle Carter of the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, whose group backed the deal, pointed out that Duke asked for twice what it settled for and that the settlement has no large load tariff. Hold on to that phrase. Large load tariff. It's the mechanism that would make the very biggest power users pay their own way. It isn't in there. Here's why that matters. And this is the part I haven't seen anyone else connect. On the same earnings call, Duke told investors it has contracted 7.8 gigawatts of new data center capacity since last year, and it's aiming for 15.4 gigawatts by next year. New natural gas plants in Catawba and Person counties come online in 2028. timed, the company says, to when hyperscale data center demand ramps up. Now, put that next to yesterday's story. Charlotte's data center moratorium hit its halfway point. City staff's recommendation so far, more site assessments, more community engagement. So the city is studying whether to let data centers in. The utility is already building the power plants for them. And the rate settlement that decides who pays for those plants has no mechanism to make the data centers carry their share. I'm not saying those three facts add up to a scandal. I'm saying they're all true. They all happened inside two weeks. And nobody has put them in the same sentence. The commission decides in November. That's the room. All right, here's what else you need to know today. Charlotte FC beat Pumas U-Nam 3-0 last night at Bank of America Stadium. And understand who that was. Pumas finished second in Liga MX last season. Brant Bronico opened it in the 27th minute. Archie Goodwin headed in a David Schnegg cross five minutes after the break. Tiger Smalls finished it from the penalty spot. 3-0 over one of the best teams in Mexico is the biggest statement this club has made in a while. A month ago, heavy rain collapsed the roof at Roof Above's day center uptown. The building with the meals, the showers, the laundry. They never closed. Within eight hours, they had an outdoor lunch station running. Since then, a non-profit called Hope Vibes has parked a mobile shower and laundry truck there every week, and the library restarted its mobile visits. Repairs run through December. They still want volunteers to serve meals. And the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library has a new chief executive, Angie Myers, who was the system's finance director, now permanent. Now, Quinnen has promised, Charlotte FC hosts... Atlas FC on Friday at 7.30, then Pachuca next Tuesday. Same building, same League's Cup run. If last night was any indication, go. And if music's more your speed, Chance Pena is at the Fillmore tonight, the Fray plays Skyla on Friday, and Brian Adams brings Pat Benatar to the Spectrum Center on Saturday. That's CLT Daily for Wednesday, August 5th. I'm Steve Baboulis. We'll be back tomorrow. Same time, same city. Until then, Charlotte, take care of each other.

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