Duke customers catch a break on their bills

Starting tomorrow (October 1) Duke Energy customers in South Carolina will see a drop in their electric power rates.  The company says it’s part of an annual adjustment of the actual cost of fuel used to generate electricity at the power plants.  A typical residential customer in South Carolina using 1,000 kilowatt-hours each month should notice a decrease of $6.81 — or about 5.6%.  Commercial customers are to see an average decrease in their bills of 5.6%, and industrial customers are in store for a 9.8% drop.  Each year Duke makes a fuel cost recovery filing with the South Carolina Public Service Commission.  The fuel rate is based on the projected cost of fuel used to provide electric service to the company’s customers, along with a true-up of the prior year’s projection.  By law, the company makes no profit from the fuel component of rates.