Thousands of residents across the Carolinas are calling for an independent audit of Duke Energy, saying unexplained spikes in electric bills are putting financial strain on households across the state.
An online petition demanding an investigation into the utility’s billing practices had gathered more than 33,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning. The petition asks for an independent review of Duke Energy’s billing system to determine whether customers have been overcharged and calls on the company to issue refunds if discrepancies are found. The petition argues that recent bill increases have left many families struggling to budget for basic expenses.
“Unexpected and unexplainable increases in Duke Energy bills have become a major concern for many families in NC & SC,” the petition states. “When bills rise without reasonable justification or transparency, it impacts our ability to plan and manage our household finances effectively.”
Electricity, the petition says, “is not a luxury, it is a vital service that we depend on daily.”
The petition was started by Rika Ponder and has circulated widely on social media platforms including Facebook and neighborhood forums like Nextdoor, where residents shared screenshots of high winter power bills and questioned whether rate increases or billing errors could be to blame. The petition calls on Duke to rectify issues reported by customers and implement a refund system if discrepancies are identified.
The petition also comes as Duke Energy is asking state regulators to approve new rate increases in North Carolina. The company wants hikes in January 2027 and again in January 2028 that would raise residential rates by about 16% for Duke Energy Carolinas customers. The North Carolina Utilities Commission is expected to hold public hearings on the proposal beginning March 30 before making a decision later this year.
Duke Energy says seasonal weather, not billing problems, is the most likely explanation for higher-than-normal bills.
“We are aware of and appreciate customer concerns over high seasonal bills,” Duke Energy spokesperson Bill Norton said. “We are committed to helping keep costs as low as possible for our customers and providing help for those who experience challenges paying their bills.”
Bill Norton, Duke spokesperson, pictured here in a 2024 file photo at Allen Steam Station.
The company said the coldest stretch of the winter likely drove higher electricity use for heating in many households.
“Many customers whose billing cycle fell around the mid-January to mid-February timeframe experienced extended cold temperatures that resulted in as much as one-third more heating use during their billing cycle compared to the same period last year,” Norton said.
Norton also emphasized that electric rates are tightly regulated by the state.
“Our rates are set by the North Carolina Utilities Commission after very careful review, including public hearings to gather community input, an evidentiary hearing, and thousands of pages of testimony, state regulators have the final say on what customers pay,” Norton said.
Duke Energy is not the only utility facing scrutiny. Piedmont Natural Gas saw similar complaints this winter about high bills, though it said natural gas prices were primarily to blame.
How much of energy bills is profit?
Duke Energy trucks lined up and prepared for a storm in advance of a hurricane in this file photo.
A new online tool released by the Energy and Policy Institute is also drawing attention to how utilities earn revenue from customer bills.
The nonprofit research group recently launched Utility Profit Tracker, an online calculator that shows how much of a monthly electricity payment goes toward utility profits based on publicly available financial data and regulatory filings. The tool allows users to enter their utility provider and the amount of their monthly bill to estimate the portion of that payment counted as profit.
“Households and businesses served by investor-owned utilities pay billions of dollars in profits to utility investors each year. Until now, no one has put a precise number on how much of an electric bill is made up of that profit,” the release states. For a $100 electric bill with Duke Energy Carolinas, the calculator shows the subsidiary of Duke Energy would take $21.70 in profit.
The calculator has also drawn criticism from the utility industry. The Edison Electric Institute, a group representing investor-owned utilities, told WHYY the analysis uses “a simple but analytically weak and insufficient approach” that could mislead readers about how much of an electric bill goes toward profits.
But Duke Energy says profits are capped by regulators. The company’s return on equity, a key measure of investor profit, is currently about 10% in the Carolinas and has remained roughly consistent for the past decade, Norton said.
“State regulators set caps on what we can earn, so we cannot over-earn,” Norton said. “By law, if our earnings are above the threshold set by state regulators, we must refund that money to our customers.”
Duke Energy said it must invest heavily in power plants and grid infrastructure to meet growing energy demand and maintain reliability, and relies on outside investors and bondholders to help fund those projects. The company expects to invest $18 billion in 2026 on new generation and transmission lines and storm-resilience efforts, including about $11 billion in the Carolinas, Norton said.
For customers frustrated by high bills, Duke recommends contacting the company to discuss payment plans or assistance programs.
But the growing petition suggests many residents still want answers.
“This audit would serve as a transparent investigation into the matter,” the petition states, “ensuring all customers are charged fairly and according to their actual energy consumption.”
