Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) announced settlement agreements with North Carolina customer advocates, the state's Attorney General's office and other parties regarding the proposed combination of Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress.

The settling parties include the North Carolina Public Staff, North Carolina Attorney General's Office, Google, Nucor, Walmart and several environmental groups. The agreements guarantee hundreds of millions of dollars in future customer savings that can only be achieved through the utility combination.

Duke Energy filed an analysis in October projecting customer savings of approximately $2.3 billion from 2027 to 2040 based on the 2025 Carolinas Resource Plan. The guaranteed savings will be tracked over a 14-year period and include lower production costs through more efficient operations and reduced capital costs through improved planning.

Production cost savings include reduced fuel usage and decreased purchases of out-of-state energy. Capital cost reductions include eliminating 200 megawatts of battery storage from Duke Energy's long-range plan while maintaining system reliability.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the combination on January 30. The North Carolina Utilities Commission and Public Service Commission of South Carolina must still approve the transaction, with decisions expected in the second quarter of 2026. If approved, the combination would take effect January 1, 2027.

Duke Energy Carolinas serves 2.9 million customers across North Carolina and South Carolina with 20,800 megawatts of capacity. Duke Energy Progress serves 1.8 million customers in the same states with 13,800 megawatts of capacity. Duke Energy will track and report customer savings annually to state regulators until transaction costs are recovered.