Duke Energy Progress customers around Asheville: your solar and battery options
In the mountains, Duke Energy Progress is the Asheville area utility. Rates have gone up under a 2023 order, another case is in front of regulators, and the rules for rooftop solar changed in October 2023. Here is how it fits together.
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Who Duke Energy Progress serves in the mountains
Duke Energy Progress is the former Carolina Power and Light. Most of its North Carolina customers are in the east, but it has long served the Asheville area of western NC as well. It is investor-owned and its North Carolina rates are set by the NC Utilities Commission.
Neighbors a few miles apart can have different utilities here. Parts of Buncombe County are served by co-ops instead, and Duke Energy Carolinas serves other mountain counties. Check your bill. See our Duke Energy overview for how the two Duke companies differ.
The Commission approved combining Duke Energy Progress and Duke Energy Carolinas in spring 2026, with Duke planning to operate them as one utility starting January 1, 2027. Duke has said nothing changes on bills that day and separate rates continue for now.
What has happened to rates
In August 2023 the Commission approved an increase for Progress of about 11.3 percent in total, phased over three years: about 3.3 percent in October 2023, 2.4 percent in 2024 and 5.6 percent in 2025. Duke had asked for 16 percent.
Duke filed a new case in late 2025 asking for a residential increase of roughly 18 percent over two years starting in 2027. A public hearing for Progress customers was held at the Haywood County Courthouse in Waynesville in April 2026. In August 2026 Duke and the Public Staff proposed a settlement that would bring the residential increase down to about 6.8 percent over two years, with new rates starting January 1, 2027 if approved. The Attorney General said it was still too high and did not sign. The Commission decides, under docket E-2, Sub 1380.
How Progress credits rooftop solar
The old Rider NM closed to new residential applications after September 30, 2023. New solar customers now choose Residential Solar Choice, which requires a time-of-use rate with critical peak pricing, a monthly minimum bill and non-bypassable charges, or the Net Metering Bridge rider, which skips time-of-use but has a yearly enrollment cap. Under both, net exports each month are credited at Duke's avoided cost rate.
If you are on legacy net metering, unused credits for Progress customers are forfeited each May 31, and legacy customers are scheduled to move to the bridge rider on December 31, 2026. That makes it a good year to look at whether a battery would help you use more of your own solar.
Helene and the Asheville grid
Helene in late September 2024 hit this territory as hard as anywhere. The substation on Swannanoa River Road that serves Biltmore Village was damaged badly enough that it had to be rebuilt, with a temporary substation in the meantime. A week after the storm, about 200,000 Duke customers in western NC were still waiting for power.
Mountain homes here deal with ridgetop wind, ice on lines, and long driveways through trees. Many rural homes on the edges of the Asheville area run on wells, and a well pump is usually the first load people want on backup.
Batteries, generators and PowerPair
- Battery with solar. Stores midday solar for the evening peak and carries critical loads in an outage.
- Standby generator. Runs on propane or natural gas and covers long outages when sun is short in a narrow cove or in winter.
- Both. A battery for short outages and daily savings, a generator for the long ones.
Duke's PowerPair pilot offers a one-time incentive for solar and a battery installed together by a Duke Trade Ally. Ask your contractor whether PowerPair still has capacity.
The fastest way to a real answer
Getting a solar contractor to return a call out here can take weeks. On HomeBackupPros you can book a home energy evaluation for $349: an electric audit, a review of how you use power, and a written quote for a system. If you buy the system from that same contractor, the $349 is credited toward the price. Contractors can also offer a free site visit or send an estimate, and you choose.
Every contractor is reviewed and approved by our team before they can respond, and we check their NC electrical contractor license number. They are independent businesses. HomeBackupPros does not install anything and does not employ them.
Have 12 months of kWh from your Progress bill ready, and note which way your roof faces and how much shade it gets from the ridge or trees.
Where Duke Energy Progress serves in our area
- Asheville
- The Asheville area of Buncombe County
- Nearby mountain communities in the Asheville area (check your bill, as co-ops and Duke Energy Carolinas serve some neighboring areas)
Questions
Is Duke Energy Progress the same as Duke Energy Carolinas?
No. They are two separate Duke utilities with separate rates and separate rate cases. Progress serves the Asheville area in the mountains and much of eastern NC. The Commission approved combining them starting in 2027, but Duke has said separate rates continue for now.
What solar rate would I be on as a new Progress customer?
Either Residential Solar Choice, which requires a time-of-use rate with critical peak pricing and a monthly minimum bill, or the Net Metering Bridge rider if there is room under its yearly cap. Both credit monthly exports at Duke's avoided cost rate. Your contractor should model both.
Is Duke Energy Progress raising rates in 2027?
Duke asked for a residential increase starting in 2027. A settlement with the Public Staff proposed about 6.8 percent over two years, but the Attorney General did not sign it and the Utilities Commission makes the final decision. Check docket E-2, Sub 1380 for the current status.
What should I back up first after Helene?
Most mountain households start with the well pump, refrigerator and freezer, furnace or heat pump controls, internet, lights and any medical equipment. An evaluation sizes a battery or generator to those loads instead of guessing, which keeps the cost in line with what you actually need.