The utility dropped its proposed residential rate increase to 11.6% from 18% after pushback, but hearings this week highlighted continued unease. “I don't see how you can say that we're benefiting customers,” one utility commissioner said.

After insisting it wasn’t needed, Duke pitched a "large load tariff" for big energy users — a concession to critics before a hearing on its proposed rate…

The proposal lumps data centers together with conventional large users, leaving the latter exposed to rate pressure driven by the AI boom.