Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) reaches partial North Carolina rate case settlement
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC reached a partial settlement with the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission in its 2025 rate case and Performance Based Regulation application. The agreement covers certain operating and maintenance costs, project-specific capital spending, rider mechanisms, and accounting adjustments.
The stipulation will trigger a one-time pre-tax accounting charge of approximately $10 million in the second quarter of 2026. A reconciliation table in the attached overview shows the company’s requested revenue requirement increase, reflecting agreed adjustments, leading to a combined total request of $556 million and a net annualized customer rate increase of 8.3% across the historic base case and Multi-Year Rate Plan years.
Key items remain unsettled and will be litigated at hearing, including return on equity, capital structure, certain capital investments such as the overall Multi-Year Rate Plan capital program, depreciation and decommissioning, storm-related cost recovery, and performance incentive mechanisms.
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Insights
Partial NC settlement trims rate request; core financial terms still open.
Duke Energy Carolinas has secured a partial settlement with North Carolina’s Public Staff in its 2025 rate and Performance Based Regulation case. The agreement narrows disputes to specific cost categories, rider mechanisms, and accounting, while leaving major financial levers like return on equity and capital structure unresolved.
The reconciliation shows the original combined requested revenue requirement increase of $1,002 million was revised to $622 million, then to $556 million after agreed stipulation adjustments. Net annualized customer rate increases now total 8.3% across the historic base and Multi-Year Rate Plan years, indicating meaningful but regulated growth in revenues if approved.
The settlement also introduces a one-time pre-tax accounting charge of about $10 million in Q2 2026, modest relative to the proposed revenue uplift. Key elements such as ROE, capital structure, Multi-Year Rate Plan capital, storm recovery, and performance incentives will be decided at hearing, so future NCUC orders will determine the final economic outcome of this rate case.
8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
Performance Based Regulation financial
Multi-Year Rate Plan financial
return on equity financial
coal ash deferrals financial
forward-looking statements financial
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):
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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:
| Registrant | Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name
of each exchange on which registered |
| Duke Energy | |||
| Duke Energy | |||
| Duke Energy | each representing a 1/1,000th interest in a share of 5.75% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share | ||
| Duke Energy | |||
| Duke Energy | |||
| Duke Energy |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
Item 7.01. Regulation FD Disclosure.
On July 2, 2026, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (“DEC”) reached a partial settlement (the “Stipulation”) with the Public Staff – North Carolina Utilities Commission (the “Public Staff”) in connection with DEC's application for adjustment of rates and charges and for Performance Based Regulation (“PBR”) filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (“NCUC”) on November 20, 2025. Testimony consistent with the Stipulation will be filed next week. The Stipulation includes, among other things, agreement on certain operating and maintenance costs and project-specific capital expenditures, rider mechanisms, and accounting adjustments.
The Stipulation does not include an agreement on return on equity, capital structure, certain capital investments including the overall Multi-Year Rate Plan capital program, depreciation and decommissioning, storm-related cost recovery, or performance incentive mechanisms, among other items.
The Stipulation will result in a one-time pre-tax accounting charge of approximately $10 million, to be recognized in the second quarter of 2026.
An overview providing additional detail on the Stipulation is attached to this Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1. The information in Exhibit 99.1 is being furnished pursuant to this Item 7.01 and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
| 99.1 | Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC Fact Sheet Regarding 2026 Partial Stipulation. |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (the cover page XBRL tags are embedded in the Inline XBRL document). |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION | ||
| Date: July 6, 2026 | By: | /s/ David S. Maltz |
| Name: | David S. Maltz | |
| Title: | Vice President, Corporate Legal Support, Chief Governance Officer and Corporate Secretary | |
| DUKE ENERGY CAROLINAS, LLC | ||
| Date: July 6, 2026 | By: | /s/ David S. Maltz |
| Name: | David S. Maltz | |
| Title: | Vice President, Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Secretary and Mergers and Acquisitions | |
Exhibit 99.1
Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC
Updates Regarding the 2025 Rate Case Filings in North Carolina
(Docket E-7 Sub 1329)
Background:
| · | On November 20, 2025, Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) filed a rate case with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) seeking approval for increases in retail revenues. The filing included requests for Performance Based Regulation (PBR) mechanisms, featuring a 2-year Multi-Year Rate Plan (MYRP) as well as residential decoupling, performance incentive mechanisms (PIMs), and an earnings sharing mechanism (ESM). |
| ◦ | The initial filing requested an approximately 15.0% overall increase in retail revenues over the two-year period, or approximately $1,002 million. |
| ◦ | The rate case filing requested an overall rate of return of 7.92% based upon an ROE of 10.95% with a 53% equity component in the capital structure1 as compared to the ROE approved in the last rate case of 10.1% with a 53% equity component in the capital structure. |
| ◦ | The historic base case in the initial filing is based on North Carolina retail rate base of approximately $26.5 billion as of December 31, 2024, adjusted for known and measurable changes projected through March 31, 2026. |
| ◦ | The MYRP includes impacts of approximately $4.4 billion (NC retail allocation) of capital projects that are projected to go in service over the 2-year MYRP period. |
| · | On June 19, 2026, the Company filed an updated revenue requirement request as part of the Company’s rebuttal testimony which reduced the requested increase to approximately $622 million over the two-year period, which is an approximate 9.3% overall increase in retail revenues. As part of the revised revenue requirement request, the Company has requested a 10.48% ROE with a 53% equity component in capital structure, and has made certain other adjustments to reduce the requested increase including withdrawing the proposed depreciation study, accelerating the amortization period for the Helene storm securitization reconciliation, and removing Winter Storm Fern from the case to pursue future securitization. |
| · | On July 2, 2026, DEC and the Public Staff - North Carolina Utilities Commission (“Public Staff”) filed an Agreement and Stipulation of Partial Settlement (the “Stipulation”) with the NCUC resolving certain issues in the case. |
Major Components of the Stipulation
| · | The Stipulation resolves a variety of accounting and plant items and adjustments in the case, including: payroll and benefits, bad debt expense, coal ash compliance costs amortization period, continuation of the transmission cost allocation adjustment, and a compromised resolution on specific distribution, solar, microgrid, and other plant adjustments and smaller adjustments proposed in the case. For the proposed MYRP2 capital program, the Stipulation resolves discrete project-level items — including limiting the Distribution Substation and Line program reduction to the equipment retrofit program and preserving the Company's ongoing O&M estimate — while leaving the broader MYRP2 capital disputes for litigation. |
1 Overall rate of return includes the provisions of the CCR settlement which includes a 150 basis point reduction in the ROE with a 52% equity component for the capital structure allowed for coal ash deferrals during the amortization period.
| · | While the Stipulation does not resolve the MYRP2 proposal or the broader MYRP2 capital disputes, it does resolve certain discrete project-level adjustments to the proposed MYRP capital projects, if the MYRP is approved by the NCUC, for hearing efficiency. |
Key issues on which the parties have not reached a compromise include the following – these issues will be litigated at hearing:
| · | Performance Based Ratemaking application including the proposed MYRP2, PIMs, and Decoupling and ESM |
| · | ROE and capital structure |
| · | Storm related matters such as the Hurricane Helene securitization reconciliation, Winter Storm Fern recovery, and the storm reserve request |
| · | Customer growth, related large load plant allocation, and large load interconnection facilities/CIAC |
| · | Large load tariff |
| · | Depreciation Study |
| · | Incentive compensation, rate case expenses, and other contested O&M items |
Additional Information:
| · | The Stipulation is subject to the review and approval of the NCUC. |
| · | An evidentiary hearing to review the Stipulation and remaining issues in the case is scheduled to commence July 7, 2026. |
| · | Subject to NCUC approval, DEC has requested total Year 1 rates to be in effect no later than January 1, 2027. |
| · | The Stipulation will result in a one-time pre-tax accounting charge of approximately $10 million, to be recognized in 2nd quarter of 2026. |
Reconciliation of Company Request to Reflect Stipulation
| ($ in millions) | Historic Base Case | Year 1 - MYRP | Year 1 Total | Year 2 – MYRP | Combined Total | |||||||||||||||
| Original requested revenue requirement increase | 595 | 132 | 727 | 275 | 1,002 | |||||||||||||||
| Post-filing, pre-Stipulation adjustments | (334 | ) | (17 | ) | (351 | ) | (29 | ) | (380 | ) | ||||||||||
| Revised Company requested revenue requirement increase | 262 | 115 | 376 | 246 | 622 | |||||||||||||||
| Adjustments agreed to in partial stipulation | (61 | ) | (1 | ) | (62 | ) | (4 | ) | (66 | ) | ||||||||||
| Company requested revenue requirement increase considering agreed upon items | 201 | 114 | 315 | 241 | 556 | |||||||||||||||
| Net annualized customer rate increase | 3.0 | % | 1.7 | % | 4.7 | % | 3.6 | % | 8.3 | % | ||||||||||
Note: Totals may not add due to rounding
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will," "potential," "forecast," "target," "outlook," "guidance," and similar expressions. Various factors may cause actual results to be materially different than the suggested outcomes within forward-looking statements; accordingly, there is no assurance that such results will be realized. These risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Duke Energy’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than Duke Energy has described. Duke Energy expressly disclaims an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.