IURC issues order on Duke Energy rate increase request

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission has approved Plainfield-based Duke Energy LLC’s request for a rate increase, but with a major change. The commission says the utility will be able to raise rates to generate an additional $146 million in annual revenue, which is 60% lower than Duke’s original request.

Duke had originally requested $395 million and later revised the number down to $362 million. The approved increase will be implemented in two phases.

The commission says it is implementing various mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the rate increase on Duke customers, including lowering the utility’s return on equity to 9.7%, down from 10.4% requested by the utility. 

The commission has also denied Duke’s request to implement an electric decoupling mechanism, which it says would have separated fixed costs from sales volume for residential and small commercial customers. The commission said the proposal was “not in the public interest because it would allow the Company to recover revenues for reductions in energy consumption that were not caused by its conservation efforts.”

Inside INdiana Business has reached out to Duke Energy for comment on the IURC’s order, including the rate increase’s monthly impact on customers, but has not yet received a response.