POSTPONED: ‘Drag Down Our Electric Bills’ rally and drag show to be held ahead of Duke Energy rate hike hearing in Durham
POSTPONED: At the last minute, the North Carolina Utilities Commission postponed this hearing to June 3, citing unspecified “significant security concerns.” Organizers will reschedule the rally and drag show for the new date. We will update with more details as they become available.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2026
CONTACT
Steph Gans, Assistant Director, Clean Water for NC, 919-401-9600, steph@cwfnc.org
DURHAM, N.C. — On Tuesday, May 12 Wednesday, June 3, Durham County residents, elected officials and advocates from various organizations will host a rally and drag show before a public hearing on Duke Energy’s request to increase electric rates in North Carolina.
WHAT: Rally, drag show and North Carolina Utilities Commission public hearing
WHEN: Tuesday, May 12 Wednesday, June 3, Rally & drag show at 5:30 p.m., public hearing at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Durham County Courthouse, 510 S Dillard St, Durham, NC 27701
The Drag Down Our Electric Bills Rally will provide public education on the impacts data centers — and the proposed power plants being built to power them — will have on North Carolina electric bills.
Duke Energy Carolinas is requesting permission from the North Carolina Utilities Commission to raise residential electric rates by up to 18%. The utility is also requesting a 10.95% return on equity, or guaranteed profit.
Duke Energy has already publicly stated that nearly 85% of power from the new methane gas power plants it wants to build would be for speculative data centers.
Durham City Councilman Nate Baker will speak at the event about keeping costs low for Durham city residents and the data center moratorium he introduced to city council in April. The event will feature drag performances, with the lineup to be announced later.
Duke Energy is one of the largest public utilities in the United States and made close to $5 billion in earnings for 2025. Yet, Duke Energy said it needs to charge customers more to “maintain its current financial position.” This rate increase would especially impact low-income residents, elderly individuals living on fixed incomes and small businesses across the state. As of December 2025, 1 in 5 Duke customers are struggling to pay their bills, according to Duke’s self-reported data.
Instead of investing in reliable and affordable technologies like wind and solar, Duke Energy plans to extend the operation of dangerous and costly coal plants and invest more in expensive and polluting gas plants. Duke is proposing one of the largest gas buildouts of any utility in the country with over 9 gigawatts of gas, even though gas fuel costs and volatility are responsible for most of the utility bill increases for Duke customers since 2017.
