Duke Energy warning: Energy usage will be high Jan 5 (Charlotte: 2014, townhouse)

[Universe93B]

A friend in a Brier Creek townhouse got this text today: Tomorrow 2024-1-5, we anticipate energy demand to be high. Please take steps to minimize power use from 6:00am to 9:00am to keep energy demand low.

Said they didn’t get this text in past winters. The temp Friday morning is going to be 26 degrees, which is cold but not record-breaking and we’ve had colder mornings before. Why the text now? More electric cars and homes with electric heat and no upgrades to the grid recently? Those Duke energy executives gotta keep fueling their Gulfstreams?

[JackieRTP]

Duke Energy said that the notification is part of an educational program to help customers be aware of their energy use on days when there is higher than usual demand for electricity. The goal is to help them be as mindful as possible of their energy usage on cold days.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/ne...e-219e51ae3374

In addition, Duke Energy sent the same email to some customers in Charlotte.

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/du...AI3SSIO6MKMQA/

[zinner]

Lowest temp since I moved here in 2008 is below. I am sure that while it's not a record we have a record number of homes with Heat Pumps and EV's that need to heat their battery packs.

Lowest Temperature 4.8 °F at 06:40 on 30 January 2014

[inner_outer_440]

Duke energy raised the rates again! This time, they are a lot more sneaky about it. The rate is divided up as follows:


$14/mo basic customer charge
$1.22/mo renewable energy rider
Energy charge @ 11.661c/kWh
Storm Recovery @ 0.284c/kWh
"Summary of Rider Adjustments" @2.5c/kWh
-----------------------------------------------------------
Actual rate before taxes: ~14.5c/kWh
Actual rate AFTER taxes: ~15.5c/kWh

Highlighted sections are the new rate structure. Most will look at the bill and think they dropped the rate from 13c to 11.6c per kWh, but they sneakily divided up the rate into two sections, and the summary rider adjustments section is shown as the total cost on the bill. To see the actual rates, you need to go to the index of rate schedules section on the Duke Energy website. [see attached screenshot for detailed summary of rider adjustments breakdown]

It's crazy how rates have jumped 60% since ~2019 and are expected to DOUBLE starting 2026 according to a WRAL interview. Even those of us with solar aren't spared, because the grandfathered net metering contract expires in 2027 and the much less desirable bridge rate contract kicks in

[NCN]

My heat pump is going full blast.

[inner_outer_440]

Originally Posted by NCN

My heat pump is going full blast.

These hourly defrost cycles (aux heat strips kicking in) are a pain in the $$$$

[NCN]

Originally Posted by inner_outer_440

These hourly defrost cycles (aux heat strips kicking in) are a pain in the $$$$

That does not happen often where we live. We used to have an electric furnace and when we bought a heat pump instead our electric bill was about half what it had been. Plus we now have central air in summer too. Zillow does not know we have a heat pump and we have had that for about 30 years. It says we have forced air and no air conditioning.

[twingles]

I got the text too.

The well known power draining hours of 6-9 am

Duke Energy needs to admit it effed up. That was not meant to "educate people". Either they meant it, for whatever reason, or it was a test that someone sent accidentally.

BFF is an electrical engineer and used to be in charge of electric supply at a major public utility; I remember her once saying "if you can't supply electricity in the wintertime you've got big problems".

[inner_outer_440]

Those texts were meant for Duke Energy customers on the Time of Use - Critical Peak Program. It’s one of their more elaborate scams where they charge time of use rates AND get to pick 10 days per year of their choosing to designate as “critical peak days” where the time of use rate during the peak period is 50% higher than the standard peak rate. In the winter months this critical peak period is usually between 6am and 9am. Customers that participate in this program are notified the evening before a critical peak period is scheduled.

[Universe93B]

Duke Energy sent an "update" this morning and said apologized for its "misleading" message:



Duke Energy is apologizing for a message sent out to thousands of customers that left many people thinking there could be rolling blackouts on Friday morning due to cold temperatures.

The text message encouraged residents to reduce their electricity consumption between 6 and 9 a.m. on Friday morning to help conserve energy due to heightened demand during the freezing cold.

Some customers who received the message said it was concerning and confusing – many of them recalling last year's blackouts that left more than half a million people without power over Christmas weekend.

https://www.wral.com/story/duke-ener...outs/21221953/