About 77,000 North Carolina Households Get a $42 Monthly Duke Energy Bill Credit That Is Scheduled to End After December

In North Carolina, the first Duke Energy bills of 2027 are set to arrive without a line that more than 77,000 low-income households have counted on since early 2024. The $42 monthly credit from Duke’s Customer Assistance Program is a three-year pilot that is scheduled to end Dec. 31, and the company has not asked regulators to extend it. The count of participants depends on the date: WFAE reported more than 77,000 households in July, and WRAL put the number at about 80,000 in October.

A Three-Year Pilot That Began With a $42 Credit

The Customer Assistance Program, usually shortened to CAP, has been available since early 2024. It gives income-eligible Duke customers a flat $42 off the monthly bill. Canary Media reported that the pilot ends Dec. 31 and that no replacement is planned.

Duke describes it as a test. According to Canary Media, the company said the pilot was meant to find out whether the savings from fewer unpaid bills offset costs spread across all customers. A Duke report cited by the outlet indicated that the credit reduces uncollectable debts and past-due balances and, to a lesser degree, disconnections.

Under the current approval, enrolled customers keep receiving the credit through December, WRAL reported in October. Duke told the station it would notify participants by email and bill message and point them toward other assistance.

Who Qualifies and How Many Households Receive It

Eligibility is tied to existing state aid. Households enrolled in the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, known as LIEAP, or in the state’s Crisis Intervention Program qualify, and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services verifies that income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, which Canary Media put at about $50,000 for a family of four. WFAE reported that households in those programs were enrolled automatically, and that some do not know the credit appears on their bill.

The enrollment figures differ by source and date:

• WFAE reported in July that more than 77,000 customers were participating, and corrected an earlier figure of 43,000 that covered enrollment only through the end of 2025.
• Canary Media reported that more than 82,000 customers received the credit in March.
• WRAL reported in October that about 80,000 customers are enrolled, roughly 45,000 with Duke Energy Carolinas and 35,000 with Duke Energy Progress.

What Losing the Credit Does to a January Bill

WRAL calculated that losing the full credit would cost a household about $504 over a year. For a family already near the income cutoff, that is a meaningful hit to a monthly budget, because heating season pushes bills higher.

The timing is also uneven. Canary Media reported that customers who joined in 2026 will not have received a full 12 months of credit, and that their bills are set to jump in January, according to Duke.

Advocates have objected loudly. Claire Williamson of the North Carolina Justice Center told Canary Media that this is not the time for Duke to pull the rug out from under 80,000 customers. Duke’s spokesperson, Caroline Fountain, told WRAL that any decision on the program’s future “ultimately rests with the Commission,” meaning the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The Rate Case That Decides What Comes Next

The credit is ending at the same time rates are due to rise. According to WRAL, Duke first sought residential increases of 18% over two years for its two North Carolina utilities, then reduced the requests after opposition. The proposed settlements would raise residential rates about 9.5% over two years for Duke Energy Carolinas and about 6.8% for Duke Energy Progress, in stages starting Jan. 1, 2027. The commission can approve or change them.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson declined to sign either settlement and has urged regulators to reject the increases. His argument, as WRAL quoted it, is that “Duke does not need as much as they are asking for from ratepayers to meet demand over the next two years.” WHQR reported in August that regulators were expected to rule on the Duke Energy Carolinas case in November, and that Duke had earned $2.6 billion in the first half of 2026, up almost 12% from a year earlier.

The CAP credit is not part of those settlements. WFAE reported that the Duke Energy Carolinas settlement contains no support for the program, according to the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters. What it does include is shareholder money: the settlements propose $20 million in shareholder contributions, directed to the Share the Light Fund and the Helping Home Fund for bill assistance and weatherization-related health and safety repairs, WRAL reported. Advocates welcomed that funding but said it does not match the reach of a recurring monthly credit and does not commit Duke to replacement payments.

What Participants Can Expect Before the Credit Stops

Duke has said participants will be notified before the credit ends, so the most useful step for an enrolled household is to watch for that email or bill message and confirm that the mailing address and email on the account are current. Because enrollment was automatic for households in LIEAP and the Crisis Intervention Program, some participants do not know they are in the pilot, which WFAE noted in its reporting.

Duke is not the only utility handing out, or phasing out, bill relief this winter. Rhode Island Energy, for example, is applying about $61 in winter relief credits for its electric customers. In North Carolina, nothing in the pending settlements promises a replacement credit of $42 a month. The outcome rests with the Utilities Commission’s ruling on the rate case and any separate action on the assistance program, and the credit stays in place on bills through the December cycle.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain