Duke Energy responds to constructive Carolinas Resource Plan decision by North Carolina Utilities Commission

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy issued the following statement in response to yesterday's order by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) on its Carolinas Resource Plan.

Background
On Aug. 17, 2023, Duke Energy filed its proposed Carolinas Resource Plan with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), two days after filing the same plan with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC). The Carolinas Resource Plan is Duke Energy's proposed road map for its dual-state system serving North Carolina and South Carolina – delivering a path to cleaner energy without compromising grid reliability, competitive rates or the energy demands of a growing region.

Due to an unprecedented increase in projected customer demand seen in its fall load growth forecast, Duke Energy provided state regulators with supplemental modeling on Jan. 31, 2024. In July, just prior to the NCUC's evidentiary hearing on the plan, Duke Energy, the NCUC Public Staff, Walmart and the Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association reached a broad settlement on nearly all topics at issue in the Carolinas long-range plan.

Duke Energy Statement
"We believe this is a constructive outcome that allows us to deploy increasingly clean energy resources at a pace that protects affordability and reliability for our customers. The order confirms the importance of a diverse, 'all of the above' approach that is essential for long-term resource planning and helps us meet the energy needs of our region's growing economy. We look forward to thoroughly reviewing the NCUC order and incorporating it into our future resource planning."

NCUC Order
After gathering input from public hearings, evaluating our proposal and comprehensive modeling and settlement – along with modeling from Public Staff and targeted recommendations from intervenors – and conducting an extensive evidentiary hearing across two weeks, the NCUC issued its decision yesterday. The order accepts the July settlement in its entirety. The order recognizes the critical importance of maintaining affordable rates, as well as the need for Duke Energy to invest in its system to ensure reliable service, particularly as load grows in North Carolina and South Carolina. To that end, the NCUC approved a set of near-term actions designed to maintain reliable service while also seeking to ensure Duke Energy maintains its trajectory of rates below the national average. Specifically, the order directs Duke Energy to pursue the following:

Near-Term Resources

• Solar: 3,460 megawatts (MW) of new solar generation, beyond the NCUC's 2022 order – 6,700 MW total by 2031.
• Battery: 1,100 MW of battery energy storage, beyond the NCUC's 2022 order – 2,700 MW total by 2031.
• Onshore Wind: 1,200 MW of onshore wind in operation by 2033, including at least 300 MW in operation by 2031.
• Combustion Turbines (CTs): Four CTs by 2030 – 900 MW of additional CTs (two units) beyond the 800 MW (two units) in the NCUC's 2022 order.
• Combined Cycles (CCs): Three CC units by 2031 – 2,720 MW of additional CC capacity (CC2 and CC3) beyond the 1,200 MW (CC1) in the NCUC's 2022 order.

Long-Term Resources

• Bad Creek II: Approved continued development work, including requested $165 million in early development costs.
• Nuclear: Approved continued development work, including requested $440 million in early development costs, targeting 300 MW of advanced nuclear capacity on line by 2034 and a total of 600 MW by 2035.
• Offshore Wind: Approved continued development work through the Acquisition Request for Information (ARFI) to advance the evaluation of offshore wind's role in future resource plans, with results filed no later than July 30, 2025, and targeting between 800 and 1,100 MW of offshore wind by 2034 and 2,200 to 2,400 MW by 2035.

Modeling, Reserve Margin, Interim Carbon Reduction Target and Other Key Findings

• Confirmed Duke Energy's recommended portfolio, P3 Fall Base, as the "reference portfolio."
• Approved increase in the minimum planning reserve margin to 22% by 2031.
• Waived the requirement to model 70% carbon reduction by 2030, agreed that the evidence in the case supported the decision to extend the date for achieving 70% carbon reduction beyond 2032, and ordered Duke Energy to continue pursuing "all reasonable steps" to achieve 70% carbon reduction by the earliest possible date.
• Confirmed proposed coal retirement dates.
• Noted that "The Commission must be mindful of the impacts to customers when determining the appropriate action to take … to ensure that Duke, and North Carolina, continue this trajectory of rates that are at or below the national average," highlighting the inflation-adjusted bill impact of the plan as a 0.9% increase by 2038.

Next Steps
The PSCSC continues to deliberate on the resource plan and will issue an order on or before Nov. 26, 2024. Following that order, Duke Energy will immediately begin executing the plan while simultaneously developing the modeling required for our 2025 plan update in North Carolina, which must be filed by September 2025. As outlined in North Carolina law, the plan must be checked and adjusted every two years, incorporating technology advances, updated cost forecasts and applicable federal funding that could help customers save money over time.

Duke Energy Carolinas/Duke Energy Progress
Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, subsidiaries of Duke Energy, own 34,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 4.6 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 52,000-square-mile service area in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. The company's electric utilities serve 8.4 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 54,800 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas utilities serve 1.7 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky.

Duke Energy is executing an ambitious clean energy transition, keeping reliability, affordability and accessibility at the forefront as the company works toward net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is investing in major electric grid upgrades and cleaner generation, including expanded energy storage, renewables, natural gas and nuclear.

More information is available at duke-energy.com and the Duke Energy News Center. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, and visit illumination for stories about the people and innovations powering our energy transition.

Contact: Bill Norton
24-hour media line: 800.559.3853

SOURCE Duke Energy