South Charlotte Today

Local manufacturers pressured Duke Energy to delay charging fees during the coronavirus outbreak, the Charlotte Business Journal reported on April 6.

The manufacturers have already decreased their prices, and some have gone as far as stopping operations. At the same time, they said Duke Energy continues to charge them fixed-demand costs, which they want halted.

The Carolina Utility Customers Association has already taken steps to petition the North Carolina Utilities Commission to press pause on the charges, at least for a season, the business journal reported.

The association requested the commission to “address the immediate and adverse economic ramifications that certain minimum and maximum monthly demand charges will have on industrial and commercial ratepayers whose energy usage is being temporarily curtailed as either a voluntary or compelled response to the COVID-19 State of Emergency,” Charlotte Business Journal reported.

Kevin Martin, the Carolina Utility Customers Association executive director, said that while the charges make sense in a regular environment, considering the current state of the nation, it’s unfair to continue charging manufacturers and organizations such as churches.

He said, according to Charlotte Business Journal, “It’s not just manufacturers. It is churches, universities, commercial customers who are closed who are having to pay these charges even when they may not be operating. Duke Energy can reap a huge windfall from charges for capacity that manufacturers and institutions cannot use."

In the. meantime, a representative for Duke Energy, Meredith Archie, seems to double down on the charges. She said, according to Charlotte Business Jornal, “Minimum demand charges are not ‘penalties’ or ‘fees.’ Minimum demand charges are part of the overall rates approved by the NCUC that recover the costs for generating and delivering electricity to an industrial facility.”

She called out the Carolina Utility Customers Association for wanting special treatment in not having to cover their bills even though regulators have already determined that everyone should pay for the services they use.

Charlotte Business Journal reported that she also said, “We recognize the economic impact that the pandemic has on North Carolina families and businesses, and we are pleased to offer relief in the form of waiving certain fees, no disconnecting service for nonpayment, and in working out payment plans. We are willing to work with CUCA members, who also have access to additional federal relief programs, on flexible payment arrangements as may be needed.”