Dominion files for increase of nearly $26 for typical customer per month starting Feb. 1

Power poles and powerlines are seen on the Outer Banks at sunset (File photo by Corinne Saunders)

By Corinne Saunders

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Dominion Energy on Tuesday filed an application with the North Carolina Utilities Commission seeking to increase fuel rates in the amount of about $26 per typical customer per month, effective Feb. 1, 2027, according to a company spokesperson.

Fuel fees do not include any profit for the company and instead reimburse the company for what it already spent on fuel, Dominion spokesperson Cherise M. Newsome told Outer Banks Insider on Wednesday morning.

“There’s no markup of these fees,” Newsome said. “It’s considered a pass-through cost, so what we paid for the fuel is what essentially customers get charged.”

The requested fuel costs would increase the typical customer’s bill by $23.48, and other adjustments of $2.25 would bring the total increase to about $25.73 per month, she said.

“The company also filed for approval of costs related to North Carolina’s Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, coal ash pond closures and demand-side management programs,” Newsome explained. “If approved, these adjustments would add an additional $2.25 per month to a typical residential customer bill.”

Calculations are based on the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, according to Newsome.

“Dominion Energy does not mark up these costs or earn a profit on fuel or purchased power,” she said in a Wednesday email statement. “We remain focused on doing everything we can to keep bills as affordable as possible while continuing to provide safe and reliable service.”

It was not immediately clear when the state utilities commission would make its ruling on the proposal. Public hearings are held before final decisions are made.

Dominion through its filing seeks “recovery of approximately $13.5 million,” according to Tuesday’s 54-page filing.

The amount represents total coal combustion residuals (CCR) expenditures between July 1, 2024, and Aug. 31, 2026, “net of total revenues collected under the rider from March 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026,” according to the filing.

This includes approximately $9.2 million in “actual incremental expenses” between Sept. 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, and approximately $2 million in projected expenses for July and August 2026—which will be updated this October.

Dominion Energy North Carolina proposed the “updated Rider CCR” for Feb. 1, 2027, through Jan. 31, 2028, according to the filing.

As of May, the typical residential customer in North Carolina had a bill of approximately $134.

Customers beginning Aug. 1 this year are seeing an average bill increase of $5.60 from a previously approved fuel rate increase, according to Newsome.

Tuesday’s filing is separate from the filing this spring asking for a rate increase effective Dec. 1, which would result in a separate average $17 monthly increase. That request reflected both Dominion’s investments and its rising equipment costs, Newsome previously said.

That rate filing is for “the base cost of producing and transmitting and delivering electricity,” Newsome said.

Based in Richmond, Virginia, Dominion Energy serves approximately 129,000 customers in North Carolina, with a service territory of about 2,600 square miles in northeastern North Carolina, according to Tuesday’s filing.

Its service territory includes most of Currituck County and the northeastern part of Dare County, according to the company’s service area map.

“We understand that higher energy bills place additional strain on household budgets, and we do not make this request lightly,” Newsome said in her email statement. “To help reduce the impact on customers, we are proposing to spread these fuel costs over two years.”

Dominion in its statement directed customers in need of assistance paying their bills to its payment assistance and energy-saving programs, including energy alerts, budget billing and more, with details available at DominionEnergy.com/savemore or by calling 866-DOM-HELP.

For more information, visit the North Carolina Utilities Commission website at www.ncuc.gov. 

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