Duke Energy reaches rate settlement in Florida, invests in solar projects (NYSE:DUK) - Seeking Alpha
Duke Energy reaches rate settlement in Florida, invests in solar projects (NYSE:DUK) | Seeking Alpha
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Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) +1.3% in early trading Tuesday to a new 52-week high as its Florida unit reached an agreement with consumer groups that would raise base electric rates but not as much as the company originally sought.
If approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, the proposal would increase base rates by $203M in 2025 and $59M in 2026 as well as increases over a three-year period for 12 new solar energy projects estimated at $12M, $71M and $58M in 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively, adding another 900 MW to Florida's grid.
Based on current projections, Duke Energy Florida ( DUK) expects a typical residential customer using 1,000 kwh will see a decrease in their January 2025 bill of $8.26, down 5% from December 2024.
Duke Energy Florida ( DUK) said agreement will allow it to make investments "to reduce outages, shorten response times, meet future energy demands, increase clean, solar generation and explore innovative technologies to generate cost savings for its 2M customers."
On Monday, Duke Energy ( DUK) declared a quarterly dividend of $1.045/share, an increase of $0.02.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.