Dive Summary:
- The North Carolina Supreme Court today struck down the N.C. Utilities' Commission's approval of Duke Energy's 7.2% electric rate increase.
- In its decision, the court sharply criticized the Commission for adopting Duke's proposed 10.5% return on equity (ROE) "without analysis or deduction."
- The court declared the Commission cannot treat customers "as mere afterthoughts" and electric rate requests "cannot be read in isolation as only protecting public utilities and their shareholders."
From the article:
"... The case now returns to the Commission, with specific instructions from the Court to make findings relating to the impact of any increase to customers. Wrote Justice Jackson:
'Given the legislature‘s goal of balancing customer and investor interests, the customer-focused purpose of Chapter 62, and this Court‘s recognition that the Commission must consider all evidence presented by interested parties, which necessarily includes customers, it is apparent that customer interests cannot be measured only indirectly or treated as mere afterthoughts and that Chapter 62‘s ROE provisions cannot be read in isolation as only protecting public utilities and their shareholders. Instead, it is clear that the Commission must take customer interests into account when making an ROE determination. Therefore, we hold that in retail electric service rate cases the Commission must make findings of fact regarding the impact of changing economic conditions on customers when determining the proper ROE for a public utility.'"