Attorney General Josh Stein Challenges Duke Energy’s Rate Hike

NC Attorney General Josh Stein has appealed to the NC Supreme Court the recent decision by the NC Utilities Commission (NCUC) to grant a 15% rate hike to Duke Energy Carolinas. 

“Every dollar matters for North Carolina families,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Yet, Duke Energy’s rate increase is too high. So, I’m asking the Court to side with North Carolina’s ratepayers and to reject this rate increase.” 

“Many North Carolina households are already struggling to make ends meet, and they just can’t afford the higher rates,” said Andrew Whelan, speaking for Charlotte-based environmental group CleanAIRE NC. Whelan further criticized Duke’s rate hike as going toward increased reliance on fossil fuels, especially fossil gas. “Rather than investing in renewables, Duke wants to shift this burden onto working families who can’t really afford higher energy bills.” 

Though they raise our bills, Duke Energy has failed to provide reliable energy. Read about Duke Energy’s recent failures.

Josh Stein For Governor

For all of his work, Josh Stein has earned our endorsement for Governor. This is our earliest endorsement for governor. Besides his work to hold greedy Duke accountable, Stein protected North Carolinians against a major polluting company. In 2020, Stein sued Dupont/Chemours for their manufacturing and disposal of PFAS into North Carolinians drinking water. Experts call PFAS “forever chemicals” because they don’t naturally break down in the environment and human body. Stein won the lawsuit, and the court ordered the company pay a record $12 million fine and remove pollutants from our air and water.

Stein stands in stark contrast to Mark Robinson, the leading Republican candidate for the governorship. Mark Robinson has repeatedly denied climate change, calling it “junk science.” Additionally, he has said he wants to take science and history out of elementary school. As part of the Coalition Against Robinson Extremism (CARE), we work each week to tell North Carolinians about the dangers of electing this man. See the dangers for yourself and follow our coalition’s efforts here.