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Duke Energy Carolinas (North Carolina) rates

Peak hours on Duke Energy Carolinas RSTC: 6 pm–9 pm, on weekdays in summer. Duke Energy Carolinas has 2 residential plans modeled here. For a typical North Carolina home using 1,044 kWh a month, the cheapest plan open to any household is RSTC, at about $156 a month.

Investor-owned 1,961,108 residential customers (EIA-861, 2025) Tariffs checked November 12, 2026

Typical all-in priceRSTC

14.9¢/kWh
RS$165/mo
RSTC$156/mo

RSTC figures leave out critical-peak days: on up to 20 days a year Duke can bill the on-peak hours at a much higher critical-peak price, so a household that uses power in those hours pays more than shown.

Residential plans

PlanTypeFixed/moJuly pricesJanuary pricesJuly weekday windows
RS
Residential Service		 Flat $15.35 14.4¢ all hours 14.4¢ all hours None
RSTC
Residential Time of Use with Critical Peak Pricing		 Time-of-use $15.35 Off-peak 9.5¢ · Mid-peak 12.4¢ · Peak 25.6¢ Off-peak 9.5¢ · Mid-peak 12.4¢ · Peak 25.6¢ Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 6 am–6 pm, Peak 6 pm–9 pm, Mid-peak 9 pm–12 am

RSTC: price by hour

July weekday. Summer pricing May–Sep; winter Oct–Apr.

Off-peakMid-peakPeak
12.4¢9.5¢12.4¢25.6¢12.4¢12a3a6a9a12p3p6p9p12a

Duke Energy Carolinas peak and off-peak hours

What are Duke Energy Carolinas’s peak hours?

It depends on the plan. RSTC: Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 6 am–6 pm, Peak 6 pm–9 pm, Mid-peak 9 pm–12 am, on weekdays, in summer (in winter: Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 3 am–6 am, Peak 6 am–9 am, Mid-peak 9 am–11 am, Mid-peak 4 pm–12 am); weekends: Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 6 am–12 am. Hours are local clock time.

When is electricity cheapest on Duke Energy Carolinas?

On summer weekdays the lowest price is RSTC: 1 am–6 am at 9.5¢/kWh, against 25.6¢ at the peak. RS charges the same price at every hour.

Which Duke Energy Carolinas plan is cheapest?

For a typical North Carolina home using 1,044 kWh a month, RSTC at about $156 a month (14.9¢/kWh all-in, before taxes). With an EV charged at its cheapest hour, RSTC gives the lowest total.

Peak and off-peak hours of every utility

Charging an EV on Duke Energy Carolinas

1,000 miles a month in a Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD (275 kWh from the wall, EPA 27.5 kWh/100 mi) at 7.2 kW, added to a typical North Carolina home’s use, on each plan’s cheapest start hour versus plugging in at 6 pm. Averaged over the year.

PlanBest startCharging, best startCharging from 6 pmWhole bill with EV
RSAny$40/mo$40/mo$205/mo
RSTC1 am$26/mo$45/mo$182/mo

With an EV charged at its best hour, the cheapest plan overall is RSTC. Compare plans on your own usage.

Cost to charge each EV on Duke Energy Carolinas RSTC

1,000 miles a month at 7.2 kW, starting at 1 am, the plan’s cheapest hour, added to a typical North Carolina home’s bill. Full charge: the EPA range, at the plan’s lowest price (9.5¢/kWh). EPA efficiency, from the wall.

ModelkWh/100 mi1,000 mi a monthFull charge
Lucid Air Pure (2027)23.1$22/mo$9.26
Tesla Model Y Standard RWD (2026)24.3$23/mo$7.44
Tesla Model 3 Standard RWD (2026)24.3$23/mo$7.44
Toyota bZ (2027)25.5$24/mo$7.64
Tesla Model 3 Premium RWD (2027)26$25/mo$9.01
Hyundai Ioniq 6 RWD (2025)26$25/mo$8.49
Tesla Model S (2026)27.1$26/mo$10.60
Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD (2026)27.5$26/mo$8.58
Nissan Leaf 75 kWh (2026)27.8$27/mo$8.04
Chevrolet Bolt (2027)28.2$27/mo$7.05
BMW i4 eDrive40 (2026)28.5$27/mo$9.06
Kia EV3 Long Range FWD (2027)29$28/mo$8.88
Volvo EX30 Single Motor (2026)29.2$28/mo$7.27
Kia EV6 Long Range RWD (2027)29.6$28/mo$9.01
Volkswagen ID.4 (2026)29.8$28/mo$8.28
Hyundai Ioniq 5 RWD (2027)30$29/mo$9.10
Ford Mustang Mach-E RWD Extended Range (2026)30.7$29/mo$9.38
Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD (2027)31.1$30/mo$9.47
Tesla Model X (2026)32.2$31/mo$10.82
Chevrolet Blazer EV FWD (2027)32.3$31/mo$9.62
Honda Prologue FWD (2026)32.5$31/mo$9.55
Nissan Ariya FWD 87 kWh (2026)34.4$33/mo$9.49
Cadillac Lyriq RWD (2027)36.8$35/mo$11.45
Hyundai Ioniq 9 AWD (2027)38$36/mo$11.61
Kia EV9 Long Range RWD (2027)38$36/mo$11.06
Tesla Cybertruck AWD (2026)42.9$41/mo$13.31
Rivian R1S Premium (2027)42.9$41/mo$12.28
Rivian R1T Premium (2027)42.9$41/mo$12.28
Chevrolet Silverado EV Extended Range WT (2026)47.8$46/mo$19.34
Ford F-150 Lightning Extended Range (2025)47.9$46/mo$14.63

How Duke Energy Carolinas’s plans work

RS (Residential Service). One price per kWh at every hour, all year: 14.4¢. Shifting use to other hours changes nothing on this plan; using less is the only lever. Fixed charge: $15.35 a month.

RSTC (Residential Time of Use with Critical Peak Pricing). Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 6 am–6 pm, Peak 6 pm–9 pm, Mid-peak 9 pm–12 am on July weekdays; 3 of 24 hours carry the top price of 25.6¢. The cheapest July weekday hour costs 9.5¢, so moving 1 kWh out of the top hours saves 16.1¢. January weekdays range from 9.5¢ to 25.6¢. Summer pricing applies May–Sep; winter pricing Oct–Apr. Weekends differ: Mid-peak 12 am–1 am, Mid-peak 6 am–12 am. Fixed charge: $15.35 a month.

Prices on this page are all-in per kWh, before taxes: base rates, supply and every per-kWh rider in the utility’s current tariff sheets. Your bill shows them as separate lines, and riders can change between tariff revisions.

As a cross-check, Duke Energy Carolinas billed its residential customers an average of 13.41¢ per kWh in 2025 (revenue ÷ sales, EIA-861). A plan taken from URDB is shown only if its all-in price is consistent with that figure, adjusted for North Carolina’s price change since.

Sources for each plan

PlanEffectiveSeasonsSource and status
RS
Transcribed from the utility’s tariff		 September 1, 2026 Same pricing all year Checked September 28, 2026
DEC NC Schedule RS, Fifty-Ninth Revised Leaf No. 11 (eff. Jan 1, 2026) · DEC NC Summary of Rider Adjustments, Sixty-Ninth Revised Leaf No. 99 (eff. Sept 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider STS, Thirteenth Revised Leaf No. 133 (eff. July 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider STS, First Revised Leaf No. 119 (eff. July 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider CEPS, Eighteenth Revised Leaf No. 68 (eff. Sept 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider EDIT-4, Third Revised Leaf No. 131 (terminated June 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider Q-FCAR, First Revised Leaf No. 60A (eff. July 1, 2026) · DEC NC Fuel Cost Adjustment Rider, Forty-Sixth Revised Leaf No. 60 (eff. Sept 1, 2026) · Duke Energy 2025 NC rate case fact sheet (typical 1,000 kWh bill)
RSTC
Transcribed from the utility’s tariff		 September 1, 2026 Summer pricing May–Sep; winter Oct–Apr Checked September 28, 2026
DEC NC Schedule RSTC, Eighth Revised Leaf No. 136 (eff. Jan 1, 2026) · DEC NC Summary of Rider Adjustments, Sixty-Ninth Revised Leaf No. 99 (eff. Sept 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider STS, Thirteenth Revised Leaf No. 133 (eff. July 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider STS, First Revised Leaf No. 119 (eff. July 1, 2026) · DEC NC Rider CEPS, Eighteenth Revised Leaf No. 68 (eff. Sept 1, 2026)

Plans marked “Checked” were transcribed from the utility’s current tariff and rider sheets, all charges included, and are re-checked on the date shown in each file. Other plans come from the OpenEI U.S. Utility Rate Database (CC BY 4.0) and have not yet been checked line by line against the utility’s tariff. Always confirm the current rates on your utility’s website before switching plans.

Compare two Duke Energy Carolinas plans

Cities served by Duke Energy Carolinas

Cities of 100,000 or more whose center lies in Duke Energy Carolinas’s service territory.

Run the numbers on Duke Energy Carolinas

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