Customers of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission will start paying more for electricity on September 1 because PWC’s board voted 4-0 on Wednesday to increase the price.
The increase is to cover high bills for wholesale electricity PWC is paying to Duke Energy Progress. PWC buys most of its power from Duke to resell in and around Fayetteville.
PWC staff estimated that the average residential bill will rise by about $1.24 per month. As each customer’s electricity usage varies, some will pay less and others will pay more.
“I hate upping the rates,” PWC board Chair Richard King said. He doesn’t want to get higher bills for his properties, he said, and he doesn’t want the utility’s 86,466 customers—homes, businesses, churches, factories, and other electricity users— to pay more, either.
This is the second price increase since May. Another increase is scheduled for May 2027.
PWC is Fayetteville’s city-owned electric, water, and sewer utility. A four-person commission, appointed by the City Council, oversees the agency.
Wednesday’s vote increased the Power Supply Adjustment rate, which is adjusted annually. The rate raises money to pay Duke when PWC has to pay more for wholesale electricity than it anticipated in the previous 12 months.
“Energy costs in the first half of 2026 were 50 percent greater than projected,” said Jason Alban, PWC’s financial planning director, at Wednesday’s meeting. In January, the cost was 128% higher than predicted, he said, and in February it was 106% higher.
Now PWC is paying Duke $18.1 million more than planned.
Customers Criticize Increase
The decision to increase the price September 1 followed a public hearing and written comment period in which five people voiced opposition.
Erin Jackson said she operates a mobile home park of nearly 300 homes. “Many of my residents are working families, senior citizens, disabled individuals, and people living on low or fixed incomes. I hear almost daily that they cannot afford their PWC bills,” she said.
Whitaker Grannis, chair of the city’s Stormwater Advisory Board and president of the Cumberland County Beekeepers Association, also criticized the increase.
“This rate increase looks to me like another cost of buying our power from Duke Energy, and I’d like to come before you today and advocate that PWC can generate more power on its own,” he said. “We can avoid things like this and be able to have a better control of our own destiny.”
While PWC buys most of its power from Duke, it generates some of its own electricity from several solar farms. It also has a natural gas powered generating plant near Eastover that supplies Duke with extra power during periods of high demand.
Travis Rose, in a written comment, compared the underestimates of PWC’s 2026 energy costs with compensation for Duke Energy’s CEO, which Duke said in a report to stockholders was $13.65 million in 2025.
“CEO compensation did not create the entire $18.1 million expense, but it raises a legitimate question: Who at Duke is held financially accountable when its forecasting is catastrophically wrong?” he said. “The consequences currently appear to fall entirely on PWC customers.”
Cold Weather, Limited Natural Gas
Alban said PWC’s bills with Duke rose because two winter storms coupled with cold temperatures in January and February drove up demand for power for heat. Further, Duke had to pay more for natural gas to power its generating plants—a cost that is passed to its customers—due to a “tight natural gas supply.”
The new Power Supply Adjustment rate will cover $13.1 million of the $18.1 million of increased costs, Alban said. PWC plans to consider later how to cover the remaining $5 million.
The exact amounts the customers will pay varies based on how much electricity they use.
Wednesday’s decision changed PWC’s Power Supply Adjustment rate from $5.41 for 1,000 kilowatt hours to $6.63 for 1,000 kWh.
For most of PWC’s residential customers, the base rates are $97.65 per 1,000 kWh during off-peak times (21 hours per day), and $149.80 for 1,000 kWh consumed during peak demand hours (3 hours per day). With the new adjustment added, customers will pay $104.28 for 1,000 kWh during off-peak demand, and $156.43 for 1,000 kWh during on-peak demand.
More customers should come to the PWC meetings, PWC Commissioner Donald L. Porter said. “I assure you that here at PWC we work hard, and we always have the customers in mind, especially those of low wealth,” he said.
Others Charge Extra, Too
Other electric utilities in the Fayetteville area charge extra fees to cover fuel costs.
While PWC’s new Power Supply Adjustment rate will be $6.63 for 1,000 kWh, residential customers of Lumber River Electric Membership Corp. pay $7.50. The Duke Energy Progress rate schedule lists several extra charges for fuel that total $15.67 per 1,000 kWh.
The extra fee that South River EMC customers pay is recalculated monthly, according to its rate schedule. As of Thursday it was $1.65 per 1,000 kWh.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
