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Duke Energy (DUK) Arm Piedmont Natural Gas Files for Rate Hike

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Duke Energy (DUK - Free Report) announced that its subsidiary Piedmont Natural Gas has filed for a rate increase with the South Carolina Public Service Commission. If approved, the new rates will become effective from October and increase the average residential customer bill in South Carolina by just under $4 per month, or $46 per year.

The rate revision will allow Piedmont Natural Gas to recoup the capital investment to strengthen its infrastructure, generate funds needed to build and fortify infrastructure, and provide safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to customers.

Long-Term Plans

Duke Energy anticipates spending capital worth more than $130 billion over the next decade, with $63 billion during the 2022-2026 period. This reflects a $4-billion increase from the previous five-year plan and strengthens rate base growth to 6.5-7%.

Duke Energy has taken an initiative to expand the renewable asset base and aims to achieve its target of net-zero carbon emissions from electric generation by 2050.

Transition in Utility Space

The transition in the utility space is evident, as utilities are chalking out plans to add cleaner sources of energy in the generation portfolio and reduce emissions from the generation process. Per the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”), the annual share of U.S. electricity generation from renewable energy sources will rise from 20% in 2021 to 22% in 2022 and 24% in 2023 as a result of the ongoing addition in the solar and wind-generating capacity. EIA expects total solar and wind generation of 32 GW and 29 GW to be added in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Duke Energy is among many other utilities that have decided to become emission neutral in the long run through systematic reduction of emissions and the addition of clean energy projects.

Utilities like Avista Corporation (AVA - Free Report) , Xcel Energy (XEL - Free Report) , and DTE Energy (DTE - Free Report) have announced plans to go carbon neutral and have taken initiatives to lower emissions.

The long-term (three to five years) earnings growth of Avista, Xcel Energy, and DTE Energy is currently projected at 6.6%, 6.4%, and 6%, respectively.

Avista, Xcel Energy, and DTE Energy reported average earnings surprise of 36.7%, 2.1% and 9.2%, respectively, in the last four quarters.

Price Performance

In the past year, the stock has gained 16.4% compared with the industry’s growth of 12.2%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Zacks Rank

Duke Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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