Overview:
• The utility says rising operating costs and expenses are fueling the proposed price increases.
• “We don’t want to have to up the rates. We want to tighten our belts.”
• A public hearing is scheduled for February 25, and the public can email feedback now.
Residential electricity prices in and around Fayetteville would rise about 13.45% over the next two years under price increases the Fayetteville Public Works Commission is considering.
The increase would be split, with a 6.5% boost as of May 1 of this year. In May 2027, the price would rise 6.5% above the first increase. Prices as of May 2027 would be about 13.45% higher than they are now.
The increase is steeper than the last time PWC increased its rates and fees, which was 2% in May 2024 followed by another 2% in May 2025.
Rates for businesses would also rise, as would monthly fees for being connected to PWC service, called facility charges, and other charges and fees. The 13% increase includes a $2 per month facility charge increase this year and another $2 increase in 2027. (For some residents, it would be a $2.50 increase this year and another $2.50 next year.)
The PWC expects to publish details about the new rates on its website on Friday. The board discussed the proposed increase during a meeting on Wednesday.
Commissioners know that rate increases upset customers.
“We don’t want to have to up the rates. We want to tighten our belts,” PWC board chair Richard King said. “We want to make it to where we don’t. But we have a shortfall, you got to cover it.”
Several factors are driving the proposed rate increase, said Jason Alban, the PWC’s financial planning director. They include rising costs to buy power from Duke Energy, which sells electricity to PWC; as well as increases to operating expenses, costs for capital projects, and interest rates on debt.
PWC is also folding the cost of the state’s coal ash disaster cleanup into its electric rates, Alban said.
Through April 2025, the coal ash cleanup was a $2 monthly fee on customer bills, and the PWC stopped collecting it as of May 1, with plans to instead cover it in the rates, Alban said. The coal ash cleanup followed an incident in 2014 when, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a Duke Energy power plant spilled 50,000 to 82,000 tons of ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond water into a river.
To prevent similar spills in the future, the state ordered a cleanup of coal ash stored at 14 coal power plant sites around North Carolina. The Fayetteville Observer reported in 2018 that the estimated $2 billion cleanup cost was shared with Duke’s customers, including the PWC. The PWC’s share was estimated at $60 million to $70 million.
PWC commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday to hold a public hearing on the proposed price increases at 8:30 a.m. on February 25 at PWC headquarters at 955 Old Wilmington Road. The public can comment in person during the hearing or by emailing PWCBoard@FayPWC.com. A vote on whether to approve the proposed rates is expected following the hearing.
A chart that Alban showed the commissioners said the bill for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours in a month would rise from $123.45 to $131.47 as of May 1. In May 2027, it would rise to $140.06.
The example assumes the customer uses 15% of their power during peak demand hours, and 85% in off-peak hours. For three hours daily, when electricity demand is highest, the PWC charges about 53.4% more per kilowatt hour than it does in off-peak hours. Peak hours with peak pricing are 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. in cold months and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. during warm months.
Even with the rate increase, PWC’s residential prices as of May 1 will remain less expensive than what Duke charges residential customers, according to Alban’s presentation. The PWC price in May 2027, the chart said, would be higher than some of Duke’s current pricing but less than what Duke is planning to charge then.
PWC’s prices, even with the rate increases, would remain below prices charged by Lumbee River EMC and South River EMC, which also provide electricity in Cumberland County.
The PWC, which is owned by the City of Fayetteville, provides electricity to 86,466 homes, businesses, factories and other customers in and around the city.
The utility last increased electricity prices in August when it increased the Power Supply Adjustment surcharge as of September 1. Residential prices were estimated to rise an average of $2.15 per month to accommodate higher prices that the PWC paid to buy electricity from Duke.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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