Storm bonds and extending recovery costs for years—-it’s not just an Oklahoma scenario such as ratepayers experienced following the disastrous 2021 winter storm.
Three hurricanes–Debby, Helene and Milton, caused extreme damage in the southeast U.S. and Duke Energy felt the brunt of it. So now Duke Energy indicated it might take a cue from what Oklahoma utilities did to recover—issue storm bonds. The large utility plans to ask the North Carolina Utilities Commission for permission to issue the bonds to pay for the hurricane and other storm related costs stretching from 2020 to 2024.
WRAL TV News reported it would mean, just like in Oklahoma, that Duke Energy customers would see a storm recovery rider charge on their monthly bills. In Oklahoma, those additional storm costs will carry forward for the next quarter of a century.
Duke Energy’s quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Duke estimates overall costs from the three storms of $2.4 billion to $2.9 billion.
. WUSF Radio reported Duke Energy might go to regulators in March to ask for approval of its plan to pass along storm-related costs to customers. It reportedly intends to use the securitization process to seek the bonds. Oklahoma used the same system following Winter Storm Uri and it proved to be somewhat controversial because of the extended legal costs tacked onto the bills.
