Duke Energy Carolinas cut its North Carolina retail revenue request to $496 million over two years from the $1.002 billion it originally sought, after a series of settlements narrowed the case.
The company’s initial filing on Nov. 20, 2025, asked for about a 15.0% overall increase in retail revenues across the two-year plan, or roughly $1.002 billion. That request was later trimmed to $622 million in June, then reduced again to $496 million in the comprehensive settlement filed July 17, 2026.
The final settlement amount implies an average annual rate increase of 3.7% over the two-year period, down from the roughly 9.3% increase tied to the June revision and far below the original 15.0% request.
The return on equity also moved lower through the process. Duke’s original filing sought a 10.95% ROE, then lowered that to 10.48% in its June update. The comprehensive settlement brought the ROE down again to 9.8%, with a 53% equity component in the capital structure.
The company’s North Carolina retail rate base also came down from the original filing’s approximately $26.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2024, to about $25.7 billion in the comprehensive settlement.
Capital spending in the multi-year plan was reduced as well. Duke’s initial filing included about $4.4 billion of North Carolina retail-allocated capital projects over the two-year period. The settlement lowered that figure to about $3.8 billion.
The progression of the revenue requirement shows the size of the cuts: Original requested increase: $1.002 billion After post-filing and pre-stipulation adjustments: $622 million After the partial stipulation: $556 million After the comprehensive settlement: $496 million
The company’s year 1 revenue requirement under the final settlement is $286 million, with $210 million in year 2. That compares with the original filing’s $727 million year 1 total and $275 million year 2 total.
The final settlement also changes the customer impact. Duke says the net annualized customer rate increase would be 2.9% in the historic base case, 1.4% in year 1 of the MYRP, 4.3% in year 2, and 7.4% on a combined basis.
A separate settlement on storm costs resolved treatment of Hurricane Helene and Winter Storm Fern costs and led Duke to withdraw its request for storm reserve funding.
Duke also agreed to a $10 million shareholder contribution for bill assistance and home repair support. The company said the settlements are expected to produce one-time pre-tax accounting charges of about $40 million in 2026. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -0.87%, and are now trading at a price of $125.01. Check out the company's full 8-K submission here.
