Duke Energy Progress is seeking approval from the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to reduce customer bills.

The request stems from the cost of fuel used to generate electricity for South Carolina homes and businesses.

The company makes a fuel cost-recovery filing annually in South Carolina. The fuel rate is based on the projected cost of fuel used to provide electric service to the company’s customers, plus a true-up of the prior year’s projection compared to actual costs incurred.

The decrease for customer bills in this year’s request is primarily driven by the decreased cost of natural gas year over year, plus a reduced true-up component since the previous fuel cost-recovery filing. The true-up proceeding is intended to resolve the difference between projected fuel costs and what is actually billed to the customer.

If approved, the average monthly residential bill would decrease by 4.1 percent beginning Aug. 1. The total monthly impact of these rate changes for a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month would be a decrease of $6.23, from $151.74 to $145.51.

Further, rates for commercial customers would decrease approximately 4.9 percent and rates for industrial customers would decrease approximately 4.4 percent. The specific impact to individual customers will vary according to many factors including electric usage and customer profile dynamics.

Duke Energy Progress serves about 175,000 households and businesses in northeastern South Carolina, including Florence, Sumter, and Darlington counties.