The Role of Fuel Costs in Duke Energy’s North Carolina Retail Rates From 2017 Through 2026

This Issue Brief examines how fuel costs have contributed to changing electricity rates for Duke Energy customers in North Carolina, with a focus on residential rates and the impacts of changing natural gas prices. The brief is an update of a previous publication from April 2024 that incorporates an additional two years of fuel cost and rates data, and provides an examination of what has changed since April 2024, including but not limited to the enactment of SB 266 in July 2025.