'ENERGY IS NOT A LUXURY'
Duke Energy customers speak on price increase at WNC hearing
Lynda Garibaldi holds up a list of her gas bills from the last two years during a public hearing at the Burke County Courthouse on Tuesday.
Catawba County Economic Development Corporation Vice President Nathan Huret speaks at the N.C. Utilities Commission public hearing in Burke County.
Kamicia Griffin, of Rutherford County, speaks at a public hearing in Burke County on Tuesday. Griffin said her latest power bill from duke Energy was more than her monthly rent for her home.
MacGregor VanBeurden, of Newton, speaks as a duke Energy customer and as a representative of the Carolinas LGBt+ Chamber of Commerce during the N.C. utilities Commission public hearing on Tuesday.
About 30 people sat in the benches of a courtroom at the Burke County Courthouse on Tuesday night to hear testimonies from Duke Energy customers opposing the company's request to increase billing rates.
The public hearing was held by the N.C. Utilities Commission on Duke's request that would increase rates by 18% over two years. The commission oversees the approval or denial of price increases and construction of new facilities for investor-owned utility companies, such as Duke Energy.
Duke Energy submitted its request to increase billing rates in November 2025. If approved by the commission, Duke Energy residential customers would see a rate increase of 13.5% starting in January 2027 and 4.5% in January 2028, according to Duke Energy's website.
The public hearing on Tuesday was one of several held virtually and in person around North Carolina. The public hearings are part of the commission's review process for Duke Energy's request.
"You can come out tonight and complain about Duke (Energy) and even complain about the way we (the commission) do things with absolutely no fear of being put in prison," N.C. Utilities Commission Chairman William Brawley said. "This is exactly what makes America great."
Brawley said the commission acts as a court system. Each speaker was sworn in to give testimony to be considered by the commission.
Seventeen people spoke at the hearing. All but one spoke against the price increase. The speaker in support was Catawba County Economic Development Corporation Vice President Nathan Huret.
Huret said he is a residential Duke Energy customer, and the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation is also a customer.
Huret said through his job he works with large corporations and businesses looking to move to the area. One of the first things those businesses ask Huret about is the electricity infrastructure in the area.
"Not just whether the lights are on, they want to know, is the grid reliable? What are the sources of generation? Can Duke Energy bring the capacity we need and how fast?" Huret said. "That question has never been more consequential. We're living through a period of extraordinary demand growth, driven by advanced manufacturing data centers, electrification and reshoring of American industry that our region is actively competing to win."
Huret said the increase is necessary because growth is necessary.
Lynda Garibaldi, of Morganton, opposed the increase and chose to share her gas bills through Duke Energy, which have almost tripled in the last two years. Duke owns Piedmont Natural Gas, which operates in Burke County. Garibaldi said she gets her electricity separately through the city of Morganton.
"I think the best way to make all of you understand why I am here is to read my bills," Garibaldi said. "Just a sampling, April through September 2024, it was $106.39. ... But in December 2025, it was $366.05. In January 2026, it was $419.38. In February this year, it was $513.02. In March, it was $513.02."
MacGregor VanBeurden, of Newton, spoke as a customer and as a representative of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce. VanBeurden spoke against the price increase and described Duke Energy customers as a captive consumer base due to limited or no options of alternative energy companies to get power from, depending on where the person lives.
"Energy is not a luxury, it is a basic necessity," VanBeurden said. "And any system that raises cost rather than protecting those who are most impacted is not just flawed. It isn't just."
Kamicia Griffin drove from Forest City, in Rutherford County, to speak at the hearing in Morganton.
"Over the past three months, I have been forced to choose between (paying) for food or paying my utility bills," Griffin said. "This month alone, my utility bill was $900, which exceeds my rent of $850. I believe it is unjust to raise rates in a way that places customers in such financial distress, forcing them to decide what essential needs, housing, utilities or basic nutrition they must sacrifice."
Sarah Johnson is a digital news reporter for the Morganton News Herald.
