Your Electric Bill in North Carolina Could Go Up by More than $200 a Year

If you have a lot of old electric appliances in your home, shocking news about higher electric rates should give you further incentive to upgrade to high-efficiency propane appliances.

This month, Duke Energy Progress announced that it has filed a request with the NC Utilities Commission to increase electric rates—including a 16.7% rate jump for residential customers. If completely approved, these higher rates would take effect at the start of next year.

According to a news report from the Herald Sun, this represents the largest rate hike the Raleigh-based power company has sought since the 1980s, when it was known as Carolina Power & Light. Duke Energy Progress provides service to more than one million electric customers in central and eastern North Carolina.

Residential customers can expect to see their monthly bills increase by about $213 a year if the rate increase is fully approved. The power company said the rate increase is needed to modernize the company’s aging power grid and for general maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

The Herald Sun reports that one of the company’s rationales for higher rates is that higher revenue makes the utility more appealing to Wall Street investors.

In filing its request for higher rates, Duke Energy Progress stated: “The Company’s current rates are not providing sufficient revenues for the Company to meet its day-to-day operating expenses and also provide its investors with reasonable returns on their investments of needed capital.”

Read the full article here.

Make the Switch to Propane

Why pay more for your electricity when you have a better option with propane?

How about starting with your water heater? High-efficiency propane water heating units generally cost 30% less to operate than electric ones—even more if you heat your water with a tankless propane unit.

Many people switch to propane water heaters because comfort and convenience are important to them and propane really delivers. That’s because propane water heaters can produce about twice as much hot water as comparable electric units.

Check out your options in a propane water heating system. It’s a lot easier than you may think to make the switch—and you could qualify for rebates when you replace your old water heater with a new propane water heater!

Besides water heaters, consider the positive difference you can enjoy with these appliances, which also qualify for rebates from $50-$250.

• End the limitations of cooking with an electric stove. Propane ovens and ranges cost less to operate than their electric counterparts and provide a higher degree of control because of precise temperatures. Plus, in many cases, a gas stove will continue to work during a power outage.
• A propane clothes dryer gets laundry dry 25% faster than the typical electric model and are less likely to cause damage to fabrics.

More folks in North Carolina are finding that a high-efficiency propane home heating system is the best choice to stay warm during cold and icy winters. Every day, people are either “pulling the plug” completely on their electric heat pump–or at the very least, bringing in some much-needed propane backup heat. Read more.

Contact your local propane company about the many ways you can benefit by pulling the cord on electric appliances and plugging into propane.