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Duke Energy (DUK) Offers EV Charger Rental in North Carolina

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Duke Energy Corp. (DUK - Free Report) recently launched a cost-effective electric vehicle (EV) charger rental program in North Carolina. This should fetch DUK more shares of the booming EV market.  

Residential and business customers will be able to lease an EV charger from the company, which will cover hardware, warranty and maintenance.

Details of the Program

The latest launch comes as part of Duke Energy’s Charger Solution program, which got its approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission last August. It will enable DUK’s residential customers to install an EV charger with no upfront cost and monthly payments starting at only $14 a month.

The customers can select from multiple charging programs. The program is a three-year rental contract for a Level 2 charger that can fully recharge an EV within eight to 10 hours. Non-residential customers may choose from a four-year rental term for the Level 2 charger or a seven-year rental term for a direct-current fast charger.

Benefits of the Launch

With the rapid rise in the usage of EVs over the past couple of years, the demand for chargers has also increased manifold. Given that the United States is the third largest market for EVs, states, including North Carolina, have been constructing dynamic targets to support more EV adoption to increase energy security and reduce greenhouse gas. Evidently, North Carolina has a goal of reaching 1.25 million EVs by 2030.

Impressively, North Carolina is the first Duke Energy service territory where the company has implemented three core EV customer programs to help customers make a seamless transition to electric. Moreover, the company’s 12-month EV charging subscription pilot program – the Home Charging Plan - allows enrolled residential customers in the state to charge an EV at home for up to 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) per month for a fixed monthly fee.

Duke Energy’s Prospects in U.S. EV Charging Market

With increasing consumer inclination toward affordable eco-friendly transportation backed up by government incentives, the demand for EVs has ramped up globally. Per a report from the Mordor Intelligence firm, the United States EV charging systems and equipment market is expected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 44.43% from 2024 to 2029.

As utilities are rapidly transitioning toward a greener path through enhancing their renewable energy portfolio, their role in providing EV charging remains critical. Duke Energy, being no exception, has created car charging programs across the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

Moreover, as part of its  Workplace Charging Program, Duke Energy aims to install numerous EV chargers in the next five years, expanding the availability of EV charging across Duke Energy locations. Such initiatives should further strengthen its footprint in the expanding United States EV charging systems and equipment market.

Peer Moves

To reap the benefits of the growing U.S. EV charging market, the following utilities have also been expanding their footprint in the EV market.

In Virginia, Dominion Energy (D - Free Report) provides various benefits to residential customers in the form of residential charging installation program and EV charger rewards. For businesses, the Fleet Charging Program provides 50% upfront incentive on EV charging construction and installation.

D’s long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth rate is pegged at 4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 sales indicates an increase of 3.6% over 2023’s estimated figure.

CMS Energy’s (CMS - Free Report) PowerMIDrive program provides rebates for EV chargers at certain locations where vehicle owners need to charge their vehicles overnight. Apart from this, the multifamily EV charging program, community charging pilot program etc., provide customers with various EV charging incentives.

CMS’s long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 sales indicates an increase of 6.4% over 2023’s estimated figure.

Since 2016, American Electric Power (AEP - Free Report) has installed more than 360 EV charging stations at several of its facilities. AEP’s subsidiary Appalachian Power’s EE program provides rebates to customers for installing Level 2 chargers.

AEP’s long-term earnings growth rate is 4.8%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 sales indicates an increase of 7.2% over 2023’s estimated figure.

Price Performance

In the past six months, shares of DUK have gained 3.7% against the industry’s 10.8% decline.

Zacks Investment Research
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Zacks Rank

Duke Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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