Duke Energy Carolinas has reached an agreement with environmental groups on a multi-billion dollar grid improvement program for its North Carolina territory.
Duke initially wanted to spend (and charge customers) $7.8 billion over 10 years for its grid plan. The settlement, announced Friday, brings that down to $2.5 billion for a three-year pilot.
The spending will include hardening of the wires in hurricane-prone areas, voltage optimization, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and energy storage deployments. It still needs approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission.
