Duke Power rates lowered

The typical Duke Power residential customer will pay about $16 less over the next year after state regulators lowered the utility's rates Tuesday because it made too much money last year.

Duke Power, a Charlotte-based utility that serves 600,000 South Carolina customers, made $41 million more last year than allowed by state guidelines.

The excessive earnings were some of the largest in at least three decades by a power provider operating in this state.

Duke said a hot summer and cold winter increased demand more than expected. The company also sold more power than usual to neighboring utilities..

The S.C. Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, ruled Tuesday that Duke must return $30 million to customers during the next year.

The company also must write down $16 million in debt financing charges that it could have recovered eventually through rates.

The rate reductions amount to $1.38 a month for a bill of $68.50. The changes begin in October and last one year.

Duke Power had asked permission to make the adjustments by writing off debt, but the company was pleased with the ruling, said spokesman Tom Williams.

"It's fair," Williams said. "It's a fair way to deal with the temporary matter of those earnings."

The commission, though, didn't deal with a possible long-term problem, said Elliott Elam, the state's acting consumer advocate.

In addition to a temporary rate reduction, Elam asked the commission to re-examine Duke's entire rate structure. Duke hasn't had a full rate case in 12 years.

Last year's earnings might not have been a fluke, Elam said. They could signal that Duke's rates need to be lowered for years to come, he said.

The commission voted to put Elam's request aside indefinitely.

"We're pleased people are going be getting $30 million back for one year, but we're disappointed the commission won't further investigate Duke's rates," Elam said.

Commissioners, mostly complimentary of Duke, voted 6-0 in favor of the rate adjustments.

Duke charges lower rates than the other two state-regulated power providers, Progress Energy and SCE&G. It also earned a rate of return below or within allowed limits in all but one of the past 29 quarters.

Reach Collier at (803) 771-8307 or jcollier@thestate.com.